Facilitating return to work after family leave: Else Kröner-Fresenius Foundation supports Charité physician

The Else Kröner-Fresenius Foundation (EKFS) has once again provided funding in 2024 through the Else Kröner Return-to-Work Grant for physician-scientists. With individually applicable amounts of up to 400,000 euros, the foundation supports outstanding physicians who wish to return to clinical and scientific work after a family-related break. One of the funded scientists is Dr. Roxanne Lofredi from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The grant aims to facilitate the return to work after parental leave, childcare, or caring for relatives, helping recipients continue their promising careers.

In 2024, a total of three projects were approved, each with a duration of 36 months. The funds can be used for various measures that promote both research activities and career development, including personnel and material resources, research stays, and training opportunities. To be eligible, applicants must have had at least a one-year complete interruption or significant reduction in clinical and research activities, with a return to professional activity no later than July 1, 2025.

Dr. Roxanne Lofredi, after completing her medical and psychology studies, pursued her training as a neurologist and neuroscientist in Paris, Berlin, Marseille, and Oxford (UK). She is currently completing her specialist training in neurology at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and establishing her own research group there. She is part of the transregional collaborative research center (TRR) ReTune, led by Prof. Andrea Kühn, which focuses intensively on the neuromodulation of network diseases, particularly Parkinson's syndrome. Parkinson's syndrome affects millions of people worldwide and causes treatable movement disorders. However, many patients also suffer from perceptual disorders such as numbness or hallucinations, for which there are currently no effective therapies. Dr. Lofredi's research aims to better understand these symptoms and develop new therapeutic approaches based on this understanding.

The EKFS-supported project "Sensing in motion - The role of sensory systems in cortex-basal ganglia networks of patients with movement disorders" characterizes the underlying brain networks to develop innovative, individually tailored neurostimulation procedures. "The EKFS Return-to-Work Grant increases the visibility of the special challenge of mastering scientific projects after taking time off for childcare. The funding line enables me to implement my scientific and clinical projects with security and flexibility and to combine them with family life!" emphasizes Dr. Lofredi.

Other award recipients:

PD Dr. Lisa K. Dannenberg, Department of Cardiology, Pneumology and Angiology, University Hospital Düsseldorf

Dr. Linda Schönborn, Institute for Transfusion Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald

Source: Press release EKFS

Contact:
Dr. med. Roxanne Lofredi
Ärztin / Wissenschaftliche Mitarbeiterin
Sektion Bewegungsstörungen und Neuromodulation

SFB/Transregio - TRR 295 "ReTune"
Klinik für Neurologie
Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Campus Mitte
NWFZ, Hufelandweg 14
Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin

About the Foundation:
The non-profit Else Kröner-Fresenius Foundation supports medical research and promotes humanitarian projects. Since its establishment, it has supported around 2,600 projects. With an annual funding volume of over 70 million euros, it is the largest foundation for promoting medical research in Germany.

For more information, visit: www.ekfs.de