(Vienna, 19 December 2023) Ursula Wiedermann-Schmidt, Professor of Vaccinology and Head of MedUni Vienna's Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology, has been reappointed to the Robert Koch Institute's Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO). The vaccination expert will therefore remain a member of the expert committee for a further term of office.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is a federal institute within the portfolio of the Federal Ministry of Health in Germany. The RKI is the central institution of the German federal government in the field of disease surveillance and prevention and thus also the central institution of the federal government in the field of application- and action-oriented biomedical research. The core tasks of the RKI are the detection, prevention and control of diseases, in particular infectious diseases.
The STIKO is an independent expert committee of the Robert Koch Institute. The aim is to be able to optimally adapt the vaccination recommendations to new vaccine developments and findings from research. The STIKO has 12 to 18 members. The members are appointed by the Federal Ministry of Health in consultation with the highest state health authorities every three years. Membership of the STIKO is a personal honorary position. The members are responsible only to their conscience and are obliged to perform their duties impartially. The constituent meeting will take place on March 12, 2024 in Berlin.
About the person
Prof. Dr. med. univ. PhD Ursula Wiedermann-Schmidt is the only female professor of vaccinology (vaccination) in Austria. She heads the Center for Pathophysiology, Infectiology and Immunology and the Institute for Specific Prophylaxis and Tropical Medicine at MedUni Vienna and is the medical director of MedUni Vienna's Special Outpatient Clinic for Vaccinations, Travel and Tropical Medicine. Wiedermann-Schmidt is President of the Austrian Society for Vaccinology and has been a member of the National Vaccination Committee (formerly the Vaccination Committee) of the Ministry of Health since 2005. She has also been a member of the Supreme Medical Council since 2011.