GESmed Award 2025
Award for Gender- and Sex- specific research in medicine (GESmed) was awarded for the first time at the Faculty of Medicine. The interdisciplinary selection committee, consisting of members of the Research Commission, the Equal Opportunities Commission, and the Gender-Sensitive Medicine Working Group, which has been active at the faculty since 2010, decided to split the €3,000 prize between two entries in the first call for submissions:
Dr. Chiara Gramegna (Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics): Modulating interhemispheric prefrontal dynamics of aggressive behavior: Sex differences and the association with personal disposition
The results of the study provide new insights into the brain mechanisms that regulate aggression, their gender-specific differences, and their connection to dispositional aggressive tendencies. It thus underscores the need for gender-conscious design of brain-related interventions and behavioral medicine.
Dr. Leonie Tix (Institute for Laboratory Animal Science): Does Sex Matter in Liver Surgery? Comparison of Severity Assessments between Female and Male Rats after Partial Hepatectomy
Until now, almost exclusively male animals have been used in preclinical liver research, even though liver disease affects both men and women. The submitted work makes an original contribution by consistently addressing gender as a biological variable in a surgical animal model, thereby highlighting not only typical gender differences but also their relevance for translation into clinical practice.
The award was presented at a ceremony during the Faculty Council meeting on December 1, 2025, by Professor Mathias Hornef, Vice Dean for Research, Young Scientists, and Equal Opportunities. We would like to congratulate the award winners on their success.