Prof. Dr. Axel R. Pries studied medicine in Cologne and headed the Institute of Physiology at the Charité from 2001 to 2015 with a focus on microcirculation, endothelium, blood rheology and angiogenesis. He was Chairman of the Council for Basic Cardiovascular Science of the
European Society for Cardiology (ESC), President of the Biomedical Alliance in Europe and CEO of the Berlin Institute of Health. His awards include the Poiseuille Gold Medal from the Society of Biorheology and the Silver Medal from the ESC. He was Dean of the Charité from 2015 to 2022, is President of the World Health Summit since 2021 and Vice-Rector of the DPU since 2023.