The 44-year-old is a recognised expert in translational research.
The Department of Neurology with Clinical Neurophysiology at Hannover Medical School (MHH) has a new director: Professor Dr. Aiden Haghikia. Copyright: Karin Kaiser / MHH
The Department of Neurology with Clinical Neurophysiology at Hannover Medical School (MHH) has a new Director. Professor Dr Aiden Haghikia took over from the acting Director, Professor Dr Susanne Petri, on 1 July 2024. The 44-year-old neurologist was previously Director of the Department of Neurology at Magdeburg University Hospital. "We are delighted that in Professor Haghikia we have been able to recruit an outstandingly well-connected doctor and researcher to head the Department of Neurology and Clinical Neurophysiology, who is committed to translation, i.e. the rapid transfer of research results into clinical application," says MHH President Professor Dr Michael Manns. "I am certain that he will enrich and advance the MHH's clinical and research specialisations."
Prof Haghikia is looking forward to the new challenges. "With its established specialisations, the MHH offers excellent conditions for innovative neuromedicine, especially in the fields of neuroimmunology and neurodegeneration as well as neurovascular medicine. I am also very much looking forward to the excellent neurology team here and to the cooperation with the MHH's research-strong clinics and institutes," emphasises the neurologist, who was born in Tehran and grew up in Bochum.
Professor Haghikia studied and completed his doctorate in human medicine at the Ruhr University Bochum, interrupted by a research stay at the University of Oxford (United Kingdom) in the field of neuro-immunogenetics. He taught translational neuroimmunology at the Ruhr University Bochum and worked as a senior consultant and deputy director of the Neurological Clinic of the Ruhr University at St. Josef Hospital.In 2020, he moved to Magdeburg as Director of the Department of Neurology.Professor Haghikia has received several awards for his research, including the Sobek Young Investigator Award for Multiple Sclerosis Research in 2019.
His scientific focus is on research into the development of neuroimmunological and neurodegenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease, with a particular emphasis on the role of the gut.
He is particularly interested in which environmental risk factors can be the cause of neurodegeneration.
Text: Stefan Zorn