Since July 1, 2025, Professor Constanze Schmidt has been the new Director of the Clinic for Cardiology and Pneumology at the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) – and the only woman to currently hold a chair in cardiology in Germany. The physician is researching atrial cardiomyopathy, a pathological alteration of the atria that can lead to atrial fibrillation and strokes.

Constanze Schmidt set the course for her medical career at a young age. “My first defining experience was taking part in the Jugend forscht science competition. It was during this that I discovered my passion for research and translational medicine,” the cardiologist recalls. She won her first top prize in Jugend forscht at the age of almost 13. 

From 2003 to 2009, she studied medicine and physics at the University of Göttingen. During her time as a resident in the Department of Cardiology at Heidelberg University Hospital, she conducted research within the “Molecular and Translational Electrophysiology” research group led by Prof. Dr. Hugo A. Katus. After successfully completing her specialist training and habilitation in internal medicine in 2017, she set up her first independent research group on “Atrial Arrhythmopathy and Cellular Electrophysiology” later that same year. In 2020, she was appointed as an associate professor (außerplanmäßige Professur) at Heidelberg University. From 2021, she then led the rhythmology unit within the Department of Cardiology at Heidelberg University Hospital, serving as a senior physician reporting to Prof. Dr. Norbert Frey.

The next career milestone followed just one year later: She was awarded an Else Kröner Clinician Scientist Professorship at Heidelberg University to investigate atrial arrhythmopathy. With this funding, Constanze Schmidt was successfully able to identify the molecular and electrophysiological mechanisms underlying atrial cardiomyopathy. She also discovered new treatment options for diseased atria and developed prediction tools to calculate the risk of atrial arrhythmia. In July of this year, she returned to Göttingen as the new director of the Clinic for Cardiology and Pneumology.

In her free time, Constanze Schmidt enjoys walks in nature and collecting seashells.