Monika Schäfer-Korting (born 7 May 1952 in Gießen

Gießen

Gießen, also spelt Giessen is a town in the German federal state of Hesse, capital of both the district of Gießen and the administrative region of Gießen...

) is a German Pharmacologist

Pharmacology

Pharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function...

 and Toxicologist

Toxicology

Toxicology is a branch of biology, chemistry, and medicine concerned with the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms...

.

Life

Schäfer-Korting studied Pharmacy

Pharmacy

Pharmacy is the health profession that links the health sciences with the chemical sciences and it is charged with ensuring the safe and effective use of pharmaceutical drugs...

 at Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main

Johann Wolfgang Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main

The Goethe University Frankfurt was founded in 1914 as a Citizens' University, which means that, while it was a State university of Prussia, it had been founded and financed by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt am Main, a unique feature in German university history...

 from 1971 to 1975. In 1976 she was approved as a Pharmacist. In 1977 she obtained the degree of a PhD

PHD

PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...

 as a pupil of Professor Ernst Mutschler. In 1989 she obtained her post-doctoral degree (Habilitation

Habilitation

Habilitation is the highest academic qualification a scholar can achieve by his or her own pursuit in several European and Asian countries. Earned after obtaining a research doctorate, such as a PhD, habilitation requires the candidate to write a professorial thesis based on independent...

).

In 1994 she was appointed as the first Professor and Chairperson for Pharmacology at the Faculty of Pharmacy of Free University of Berlin

Free University of Berlin

Freie Universität Berlin is one of the leading and most prestigious research universities in Germany and continental Europe. It distinguishes itself through its modern and international character. It is the largest of the four universities in Berlin. Research at the university is focused on the...

 (FU Berlin). Since 2007, as already from 1997 to 1999, she has served as a Vice President for Life Sciences and Research of FU Berlin.

From 2003 to 2008, she was speokesperson for the DFG

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft is an important German research funding organization and the largest such organization in Europe.-Function:...

 research group: “Innovative active pharmaceutical ingredients and carrier systems: Integrative optimization for the treatment of inflammatory and hyper-poliferative diseases (FG 463)”. She has coordinated the BMBF

Federal Ministry for Education and Research (Germany)

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research is a ministry in the German cabinet. It is headquartered in Bonn, with an office in Berlin.-Functions and Responsibilities:...

-Network project: “Validation study for the testing for skin penetration using biotechnologically produced skin models (FKZ 0312881)“.

Schäfer-Korting is a co-author of the text book on pharmacology

Pharmacology

Pharmacology is the branch of medicine and biology concerned with the study of drug action. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur between a living organism and chemicals that affect normal or abnormal biochemical function...

 and toxicology

Toxicology

Toxicology is a branch of biology, chemistry, and medicine concerned with the study of the adverse effects of chemicals on living organisms...

 named "Mutschler. Arzneimittelwirkungen (Drug Actions)", whose most recent 8th edition was published in 2001. For Springer Verlag in Heidelberg she serves as the editor of a series of monographs entitled: "Optimized drug therapy", for the ABW Verlag Berlin she edits the series of monographs entitled "The Critical Drug Monograph (TCDM)". She serves as a member of the editorial board of mycoses and Skin Pharmacology and Physiology

Skin Pharmacology and Physiology

Skin Pharmacology and Physiology is a peer-reviewed medical journal and an official journal of the International Society of Skin Pharmacology and Physiology. It was established in 1988 under the title Skin Pharmacology, renamed to Skin Pharmacology and Applied Skin Physiology in 1998, and obtained...

. She is a member of the board of Gesellschaft für Dermopharmazie (Society for Dermopharmacy) as well as the head of the scientific advisory board of Bundesinstitut für Risikobewertung, Berlin.

The characterization of the benefit to risk ratio of drugs is in the focus of her scientific work. In 1999 Schäfer-Korting published the monograph: “The Benefit/Risk-Ratio: A Handbook of the Rational Use of Potentially Hazardous Drugs“, together with Hans Christian Korting. Topical glucocorticoids with increased benefit to risk ratio such as prednicarbate form a paradigm in the context. Currently, she is particularly interested in signal transduction in various tissues looking for innovative active pharmaceutical ingredients especially for skin disease. Here the focus is on Sphingosine-1-Phosphate (S1P)

Protease

A protease is any enzyme that conducts proteolysis, that is, begins protein catabolism by hydrolysis of the peptide bonds that link amino acids together in the polypeptide chain forming the protein....

 and the corresponding receptor. In terms of developing new drugs the pro-drug concept is of particular relevance. As early as in the stage of developing new active ingredients also the possibilities of creating adequate formulations is considered. With cutaneous drug treatment liposomes and nano-structured lipidic carriers are considered particularly interesting. To reduce the number of animal experiments in the context of toxicologic investigations animal-sparing types of experimentation are developed using skin models.

Since 1980 Monika Schäfer-Korting has been married to Hans Christian Korting.

Literature

• Ernst Mutschler, Gerd Geisslinger, Heyo K. Kroemer, Monika Schäfer-Korting: "Arzneimittelwirkungen. Lehrbuch der Pharmakologie und Toxikologie". 8. Auflage, Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-80-471763-2
• Ernst Mutschler, Gerd Geisslinger, Heyo K. Kroemer, Peter Ruth, Monika Schäfer-Korting: "Arzneimittelwirkungen kompakt. Basiswissen Pharmakologie und Toxikologie". Wissenschaftliche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-8047-2214-8
• Hans C. Korting, M. Schäfer-Korting: "The Benefit/Risk-Ratio: A Handbook for the Rational Use of Potentially Hazardous Drugs". CRC Press, Boca Raton 1999, ISBN 0849327911
• Monika Schäfer-Korting, Hans Christian Korting, Ernst Mutschler: "Pharmakokinetik oraler Antimykotika". Schattauer Verlag, Stuttgart 1985, ISBN 379451050X

External links