New STIKO members from FAU
Virologist Überla and occupational medicine specialist Kaifie-Pechmann involved in decisions on German recommendations for immunizations
Prof. Dr. Klaus Überla and Prof. Dr. Andrea Kaifie-Pechmann are members in the newly convened Standing Committee on Vaccination (STIKO): Prof. Dr. Andrea Kaifie-Pechmann is the new director of the Institute and Outpatient Clinic of Occupational, Social, and Environmental Medicine at FAU. Prof. Dr. Klaus Überla is the director of the Institute of Clinical and Molecular Virology at Universitätsklinikum Erlangen.
Professor Kaifie-Pechmann is new to the committee. She specializes in occupational medicine, and focuses particularly on identifying risks at the workplace in order to avoid them. These include chemical but also biological risks entailed, for example, by tasks with increased risk of infection, for example in the hospital. Preventative vaccination measures are an integral element of occupational medicine care.
Professor Überla has been a member of the voluntary committee of experts for seven years already. His research focuses on the pre-clinical development and characterization of new vaccinations against HIV/AIDS and viral respiratory diseases.
In the next three years, they will both be involved in developing vaccination recommendations for the population in Germany. The STIKO is guided by the criteria of evidence-based medicine, taking the individual benefit for vaccinated people and the population as a whole into account.
Further information
Prof. Dr. Andrea Kaifie-Pechmann
Chair of Occupational and Social Medicine
Prof. Dr. med. Klaus Überla
Director of the Department of Clinical and Molecular Virology