Institute Robert Koch, Berlin, Germany
Annette Mankertz has studied Biochemistry and received a Diploma from Berlin Free University in 1987. She joined Prof. Walter Messer at the Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin and was awarded PhD for studies of bacterial viruses in 1990. Since then, she worked at Robert Koch-Institute. First, she became interested in the molecular biology of porcine circoviruses and investigated the mechanisms of pathogenicity and the interaction of circoviruses with their hosts. Meanwhile, Annette Mankertz switched gears and nowadays works with viruses inducing the childhood diseases measles, mumps and rubella (MMR). As Head of the National Reference Centre MMR she cooperates closely with the ECDC and the WHO, and her lab serves as one of three WHO Regional Reference Labs in Europe. Besides her commitment to laboratory diagnostic and public health she is still highly interested in basic science, especially in molecular virology. In 2005, she became Assistant Professor at the Free University. She enjoys teaching and working in the area of interface between public health, diagnostic and basic science. In 2011, Annette Mankertz has been appointed the Head of Unit “Viral infections” and Deputy Head of the “Department of Infectious Diseases” in RKI.
