Profile

Professional career

• 09/1982 - 09/1985
  Nurse, Hospital for Psychiatry and Neurology, Rodewisch/Saxony
• 08/1991 - 12/1992
  Residency, Department of Psychiatry, University of Leipzig
• 02/1993 - 07/1993
  House Physician, Internal Medicine, Ashington/Wansbeck Hospital, UK
• 08/1993 - 09/1993
  Mission „Doctors for the Third World“, Mindanao/Philippines
• 10/1993 - 06/1994
  Residency in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychiatry, University of Leipzig, Germany, 1994 Medical Thesis in the field of Health Service Research, Leipzig University, Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Klaus Weise
• 08/1995 - 03/2000
  Residency in Psychiatry and Neurology, Department of Psychiatry, University of Leipzig
• 01/2001 - 12/2001
  Residency in Psychiatry and Neurology, Department of Neurolgy, University of Leipzig
• 01/2002 - 08/2004
  Physician in psychiatry and psychotherapy/ research group leader, Department of Psychiatry, University of Leipzig07/2002 Habilitation on the topic ‘Epidemiology of dementia - the challenge of an ageing society’
• 09/2004 - 08/2010
  Full Professor of Public Health (C3), Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical Faculty, University of Leipzig
• 12/2008 - 08/2010
  Provisional head of the Institute for Social Medicine at the Medical Faculty of the University of Leipzig
• since 09/2010
  Full professor (W3) and Director of the Institute of Social Medicine, Occupational Health and Public Health (ISAP), University of Leipzig

Education

• 10/1985 - 07/1991
  Medical School (M.D.) University of Leipzig
• 07/1994 - 06/1995
  Post graduate study, Master of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA, Scholarship of the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD), focus on Epidemiology

Panel Memberships

• since 01/2007
  Editor-in-Chief of the Journal "Psychiatrische Praxis" (Thieme)
• since 01/2012
  Board Member of the German Society for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Psychosomatics and Neurology (DGPPN); Committee Member for Health Services Research and Public Health
• since 01/2009
  Co-Head of the DGPPN Department of Psychosocial Care Research
• since 03/2013
  Chair of the Doctoral Commission 10 Faculty of Medicine, University of Leipzig
• 07/2015 - 06/2020
  Scientific advisory board member Committee Health Monitoring (GBEMON) of the Robert-Koch-Institute (RKI)
• 03/1216 - 03/2024
  Review board member Clinical Neurosciences and Clinical Trials of the German Research Foundation (DFG)
• since 06/2016
  Member of the Epidemiology and Social Psychiatry Section of the European Psychiatric Association (EPA)
• 01/2017 - 09/2023
  German Network for Health Services Research (DNVF e.V.), Co-Speaker Mental Health Expert group
• since 01/2019
  Member of the expert group “Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases” of the NAKO Health Study
• 01/2019 - 12/2024
  Scientific Advisory Board of the Faculty VI Medicine and Health Sciences of the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg
• since 10/2020
  Advisory Board for Public Health at the Saxon State Ministry for Social Affairs and Social Cohesion
• since 09/2022
  Board member of the German Association of Social Medicine and Prevention (DGSMP)
• since 12/2022
  Scientific Advisory Board of the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs for the funding program “Research on Health in the World of Work”
• since 01/2023
  Member of the Occupational Medicine Committee of the Saxon State Medical Association
• since 01/2023
  Member of the Board of Trustees Leibniz Institute on Aging/Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) e.V.
• since 09/2024
  Board member of the German Network for Health Services Research (DNVF e.V.)
• since 04/2024
  Board member of the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF)

I started out my professional career in social psychiatry which focus on patients in their social contexts. This perspective of viewing individuals embedded in families, neighbourhoods and societies inspired my research throughout my research career. Getting an MPH at Hopkins enhanced my interest in epidemiology and population health. Soon I started to set up population- and primary care-based cohort studies investigating large number of individuals over decades (e.g. Leipzig Longitudinal Study of the Aged (Leila75+), AgeCoDe/AgeQualiDe, AgeMooDe). Based on the results of the cohort studies regarding risk and protective factors, I got more and more involved in the development and testing of interventions in multicentric randomized controlled trials as PI (e.g. first German multi-component preventive RCT AgeWell.de, several scalable mHealth interventions). Mental health is a focus of my work (cognitive disorders, depression).I was honoured as highly cited researcher in 2021, 2022, and 2023 in the area of cross fields (Clarivate).

• Workplace bullying among the working population in Germany – a representative study

  Riedel-Heller, Steffi

  Duration: 12/2022 – 05/2024

  Funded by: andere Bundesministerien

  Involved organisational units of Leipzig University: Institut für Sozialmedizin, Arbeitsmedizin und Public Health (ISAP)
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• Unmet care needs and risk profiles of very old people with dementia and depression – a quanti-tative analysis based on established cohort studies

  Stein, Janine

  Duration: 11/2022 – 03/2024

  Funded by: DFG Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft

  Involved organisational units of Leipzig University: Institut für Sozialmedizin, Arbeitsmedizin und Public Health (ISAP)
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• Evaluation of the examination of children in the 4th year of life (KITA examination) by the child and adolescent health service (KJÄD) of the public health departments in Saxony (ÖGD4KITA)

  Riedel-Heller, Steffi

  Duration: 09/2022 – 10/2023

  Funded by: Andere sächsische Ministerien (ohne SMWA und SMWK)

  Involved organisational units of Leipzig University: Institut für Sozialmedizin, Arbeitsmedizin und Public Health (ISAP)
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• Evaluation of the prevention program “Mentally fit in children and youth sports clubs”

  Riedel-Heller, Steffi

  Duration: 09/2022 – 04/2023

  Funded by: Vereine/Gesellschaft

  Involved organisational units of Leipzig University: Institut für Sozialmedizin, Arbeitsmedizin und Public Health (ISAP)
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• Obesity and depression – development, acceptability, effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a self-help strengthening Online-Coach (@ktivPLUS)

  Löbner, Margrit

  Duration: 05/2022 – 04/2025

  Funded by: BMBF Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung

  Involved organisational units of Leipzig University: Institut für Sozialmedizin, Arbeitsmedizin und Public Health (ISAP)
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more projects

• Zollinger, I.; Bauer, A.; Blotenberg, I. et al.

  Associations of Depressive Symptoms with Subjective Cognitive Decline in Elderly People—A Cross-Sectional Analysis from the AgeWell.de-Study

  Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2023. 12 (16).

  DOI: 10.3390/jcm12165205
  show details
• Khachatryan, K.; Otten, D.; Beutel, M. E.; Speerforck, S.; Riedel-Heller, S.; Ulke, C.; Brähler, E.

  Mental resources, mental health and sociodemography: a cluster analysis based on a representative population survey in a large German city

  BMC public health. 2023.

  DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-16714-4
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• Lennon, M. J.; Lam, B. C. P.; Lipnicki, D. M. et al.

  Use of Antihypertensives, Blood Pressure, and Estimated Risk of Dementia in Late Life An Individual Participant Data Meta-Analysis

  JAMA Network Open. 2023. 6 (9).

  DOI: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.33353
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• Bohlken, J.; Riedel-Heller, S.; Kostev, K.; Michalowsky, B.

  Demenzdiagnosen in deutschen Hausarztpraxen – Ein Vergleich mit der Prävalenzschätzung für das Jahr 2021

  Psychiatrische Praxis. 2023. 51 (01). pp. 45–48.

  DOI: 10.1055/a-2160-2864
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• Zülke, A.; Pabst, A.; Luppa, M. et al.

  A multidomain intervention against cognitive decline in an at-risk-population in Germany: Results from the cluster-randomized AgeWell.de trial

  Alzheimer's & dementia. 2023. 20 (1). pp. 615–628.

  DOI: 10.1002/alz.13486
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more publications

• Andere Stipendien/Forschungspreise: Alzheimer-Forschungspreis

  Riedel-Heller, Steffi (Institut für Sozialmedizin, Arbeitsmedizin und Public Health (ISAP))

  awarded in 2017 by Hans- und Ilse Breuer-Stiftung.
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more awards