No. 33c

Shalini Saxena new Interim Administrative Director

Porträt einer Frau mit lockigem, schwarzem Haar, die lächelt. Sie trägt einen dunklen Blazer über einer weißen Bluse.

As of July 1, 2026, Shalini Saxena assumed the role of Administrative Director of the DKFZ on an interim basis. She succeeds Ursula Weyrich, who is moving to ZDF (Second German Television) in Mainz.

Shalini Saxena joined the DKFZ in 2016 and has headed the Legal Department since 2018. She brings extensive experience in the national and international research community and has many years of experience in various roles at the intersection of science, administration, and European research policy.

Shalini Saxena studied at universities in Saarbrücken, Maastricht, and Heidelberg. For several years, she worked at the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (now the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space, BMFTR) and served, among other roles, as a national expert at the European Commission in Brussels.

Ursula Weyrich has assumed the position of Administrative Director at ZDF and serves as deputy Director General as of July 1, 2026.

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About DKFZ

With more than 3,000 employees, the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) is Germany’s largest biomedical research institute. DKFZ scientists identify cancer risk factors, investigate how cancer progresses and develop new cancer prevention strategies. They are also developing new methods to diagnose tumors more precisely and treat cancer patients more successfully. The DKFZ's Cancer Information Service (KID) provides patients, interested citizens and experts with individual answers to questions relating to cancer.

To transfer promising approaches from cancer research to the clinic and thus improve the prognosis of cancer patients, the DKFZ cooperates with excellent research institutions and university hospitals throughout Germany:

  • National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT, 6 sites)
  • German Cancer Consortium (DKTK, 8 sites)
  • Hopp Children's Cancer Center (KiTZ) Heidelberg
  • Helmholtz Institute for Translational Oncology (HI-TRON Mainz) - A Helmholtz Institute of the DKFZ
  • DKFZ-Hector Cancer Institute at the University Medical Center Mannheim
  • National Cancer Prevention Center (jointly with German Cancer Aid)

The DKFZ is 90 percent financed by the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space and 10 percent by the state of Baden-Württemberg. The DKFZ is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers.

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