Claudia Denkinger

Claudia Maria Denkinger (born 1978) is a German infectious disease and tropical medicine physician and researcher. Since 2019, she is head of the Division of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine at the Heidelberg University Hospital, Germany.. Her research focuses on development, trialling, and implementation of diagnostics for diseases, primarily affecting resource-poor settings. 
== Education ==
Claudia Denkinger studied medicine from 1997 to 2004 at the Julius-Maximilians-University in Würzburg, Germany . For her doctoral thesis she spent almost 2 years at the Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio, USA . In her thesis, which she completed with summa cum laude from the Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg, she investigated the immunology of blockade of the macrophage migration inhibitory factor in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis. For her dissertation, she was awarded the Novartis prize and Doctoral thesis prize. Later, Denkinger also attained a Master of Science and Diploma in Tropical Medicine and International Public Health from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine for which she was awarded the Frederick Murgatroyd Award.
== Career ==
From 2005 to 2008, Denkinger trained in internal medicine at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center , Boston, USA, a teaching hospital at Harvard Medical School. After the Master course in London and her time in South Africa working in HIV and tuberculosis care, she returned to the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where she took the position as Chief Medical Resident. The year as Chief Medical Resident was followed by further clinical specialty training in Infectious Diseases, which she completed in 2012. Subsequently, she attended as infectious disease clinician in Boston until 2015. Parallel to her clinical work, Denkinger was a postdoctoral researcher at McGill University, Montreal, Canada, focusing on tuberculosis diagnostics evaluation and mathematical modelling in the Department of epidemiology and biostatistics with Madhukar Pai . 
In 2014, she moved to the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) , the Global Alliance for Diagnostics in Geneva, Switzerland. Here she was head of the tuberculosis program and led the establishment of the novel hepatitis program. During her time at FIND, she enabled the development of several diagnostics tests recently approved by the WHO for tuberculosis and hepatitis as well as successfully executing several large-scale clinical studies for novel diagnostics in limited resource settings. She contributed to the majority of tuberculosis diagnostics-related guideline development meetings of the WHO in the last years. 
In 2019, she turned down an offer for a position of full professor at University of Tübingen to join the University Hospital Heidelberg, where is heading the division of infectious diseases and tropical medicine at the Centre of Infectious Diseases, Heidelberg, Germany. In 2020, she was awarded her Habilitation (Venia legendi) from University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. For her work on tuberculosis diagnostics, she was granted the Gertrud Meissner Award of the European Society of Mycobacteriology in 2016 and the Memento-Prize in 2021 . Since 2021, Denkinger is an elected member of the advisory group on tuberculosis diagnostics and laboratory strengthening for the WHO 
Early on during the COVID-19 pandemic, Denkinger recognized the value of rapid antigen-based lateral flow tests and their role in a public health response to the pandemic. Her research work on test accuracy, testing strategies and self-testing informed national and international policy , including WHO guidance and had her appear in several German and international news channels (including heute-journal , FAZ , Der Spiegel or Arirang Korea ). 
Denkinger is also an avid educator and has contributed to various training programs. During her time in Boston, she established a Global Health program for trainees at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and for this has received various teaching awards. 
== Committees and boards == 
Claudia Denkinger is:
* member of the advisory group on tuberculosis diagnostics and laboratory strengthening for the WHO 
* member of the advisors board to directors of the DTG
* vice-chair of DGI Sektion Mykobakteriosen
* DZIF vice-chair in Heidelberg and TB co-chair
Additionally, Denkinger is an academic editor of PLOS Medicine and takes on the role of ad-hoc reviewer for other scientific journals.
== Awards == 
*1999-2004: Scholarship for Medical Studies, Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft (German Business Foundation)
*2000-2001: Research Scholarship, Stiftung der Deutschen Wirtschaft (German Business Foundation)
*2006: Postgraduate Research Prize, Novartis Foundation, Germany 
*2008: Tutoring Award, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
*2008: Lowell McGee Award, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, USA
*2010: Frederick Murgatroyd Award, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, UK
*2014: Research Prize, McGill International Tuberculosis Center, Canada
*2016: Gertrud Meissner Research Award, European Society of Mycobacteriology 
*2018: Public Health Initiative Award, India Health & Wellness Summit, India (with FIND)
*2021: Memento Prize, Germany 
== Publications == 
Pubmed Link
Category:1978 births
Category:German infectious disease physicians
Category:German tropical physicians
Category:German scientists