Keynote Speech:
Off the beaten path or into the wild:
Is a clinician scientist career right for me?
Thursday, January 30, 2025, 3:00 – 3:30 pm
Clinical Trial Center of the Faculty of Medicine | large lecture hall, ground floor
What does it actually mean to be a clinician scientist ‑ and is this the right path for me? In my talk, I will take you on a journey through the highs and lows of this challenging dual role. I will not only honestly share my personal experiences, but also the most important insights that have accompanied and supported me along the way. You will learn about the key skills and tools you need to successfully operate at the interface between clinic and research. Together, we will shed light on the challenges that you will face both at the beginning and in the further course of this journey ‑ and how you can meet them with targeted preparation and a strategic approach.
Speaker: Dr. Rima Chakaroun, Internist, Postdoctoral Clinician Scientist Fellow, Wallenberg Laboratory, Department of Endocrinology, Nephrology, Rheumatology, University of Leipzig
Dr. Rima Chakaroun is an internist specializing in endocrinology and nutrition medicine and has recently completed her habilitation. She completed her high school studies in Lebanon before studying medicine at the University of Leipzig in Germany and the University of Alabama at Birmingham in the USA. Awarded her medical doctorate with summa cum laude in 2014, she focused on the role of different adipose tissues on insulin sensitivity and weight loss intervention outcomes. Clinically active between 2011 and 2021—excluding a research sabbatical at the Integrated Research and Treatment Center (IFB) between 2017 and 2019—she received her board certification in internal medicine in May 2020. As a clinician scientist, she focuses on the interplay between the microbiome and metabolic health, integrating molecular biology and bioinformatics to address critical clinical challenges in cardiometabolic health, particularly the impact of gut bacteria on metabolism, immunity, and endocrine homeostasis. She is currently concluding a Walter Benjamin Research Fellowship awarded by the DFG at the Wallenberg Laboratory in Gothenburg, Sweden. She is the recipient of the German Diabetes Association Doctoral Prize in 2015, and the Schoeller-Junkmann Prize from the German Society for Endocrinology in 2021. When not working or spending time with family or keeping connected with her family and friends around the world, she enjoys rather uninspiring hobbies like walking her dog, and watching reruns of her favorite shows (like scrubs).