Stefan Frantz elected to the Leopoldina

Membership of the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina is one of the most prestigious honours in the German research community. In recognition of his outstanding contributions to cardiovascular research, the Leopoldina Presidium has now elected Professor Stefan Frantz as a new member. His admission was preceded by a nomination from an Academy member and a multi-stage assessment of his scientific excellence.

With his admission to the Leopoldina, the cardiologist and Director of the Medical Clinic I at Würzburg University Hospital (UKW) is now officially recognised as one of the leading researchers in his field. Founded in 1652, the learned society currently has 1,751 members from Germany and around the world. Together, they pursue the Leopoldina’s two overarching objectives: representing German science abroad and advising policymakers and the public.

Stefan Frantz: “Being elected to the Leopoldina is a great honour and distinction for me. I find the opportunity to work on important future-oriented topics across disciplinary boundaries, together with a high-calibre, international community of scientists, particularly exciting. The Leopoldina’s advisory role to policymakers and society offers the chance to incorporate scientific findings into recommendations that are relevant to society. I am particularly drawn to the interdisciplinary approach, for example when topics such as heat and cardiovascular diseases or healing are examined jointly from the perspectives of cardiology, dermatology and other disciplines. The fact that the Academy is based in Halle an der Saale, where I served for three years as Director of the University Clinic and Polyclinic for Internal Medicine III, also creates a special personal connection for me.”

The Würzburg-based cardiologist will be involved in the ‘Internal Medicine and Dermatology’ section at the Leopoldina. As a cardiovascular researcher, he focuses in particular on the interactions between the heart, the immune system, the brain and other organ systems. His work centres on the mechanisms of healing following a myocardial infarction and their significance for the development and progression of heart failure.

Stefan Frantz’s career

Stefan Frantz was born in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1970. After attending school in Stuttgart and Paris, he passed his Abitur in Munich in 1989. He began his medical studies with a scholarship from the Bavarian Programme for the Promotion of Gifted Students at the University of Regensburg and continued them at the University of Würzburg after passing his Physikum. His PhD, completed in 1996, laid the foundations for his translational research into the metabolic mechanisms of cardiovascular diseases and their therapeutic modulation.

From 1998 to 2000, Frantz conducted research in Boston (USA) on a scholarship from the German Research Foundation (DFG). He then returned to Würzburg University Hospital (UKW), where he completed his specialist training. In 2005, he was recognised as a specialist in internal medicine; a year later, he completed his habilitation and was granted the right to teach. This was followed by specialisation in cardiology and a sub-specialisation in intensive care medicine.

In 2007, Stefan Frantz became a senior registrar in the Intensive Care Unit; in 2009, he took over as Head of the Central A&E Department and Admissions Unit. Further milestones include the W2 professorship in Translational Research (2011), the directorship of the University Clinic and Polyclinic for Internal Medicine III at Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg from 2014 to 2017, and, since 2017, the directorship of the Medical Clinic and Polyclinic I at the UKW.

Co-founder of the DZHI

In addition, Frantz holds numerous scientific leadership roles. He is deputy spokesperson for the German Centre for Heart Failure (DZHI) and for the Interdisciplinary Centre for Clinical Research (IZKF). From 2021 to 2025, he served as Deputy Medical Director of the UKW, and since 2026 he has been Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Medicine.

Among the most significant milestones in his career are co-founding the German Centre for Heart Failure and successfully securing the Collaborative Research Centre (SFB) 1525, of which he has been spokesperson since 2022.