Dr. Knut Schäkel holds a professorship in Immunodermatology and is the vice-chair of the Department of Dermatology at the University Hospital, Ruprecht-Karls-University, Heidelberg.

Dr. Schäkel received his MD from the Medical School in Hannover, Germany. He was trained as a predoctoral research fellow in Buffalo, New York, United States, and continued his post-doctoral career in Immunology in Dresden, Germany. He specialized in Dermatology, Allergy, and Immunology in Göttingen, Dresden, and Heidelberg. To foster interdisciplinary cooperation, he founded the Interdisciplinary Center for Inflammation Medicine Heidelberg (IZEH).

Dr. Schäkel has published widely in many high-ranked journals, including Immunity, Blood, and the Journal of Experimental Medicine. He serves as a board member and advisor to academic and private scientific organizations, and has received multiple grants and awards, among them the Karl-Hansen Award and the Champion Novartis Research Prize.

His research focuses on the characterization of myeloid cell populations. Dr. Schäkel´s team significantly contributed to understanding the immune regulation of skin diseases and their therapeutic translation.