27 Notable alumni of Heinrich Heine University of Dusseldorf
Updated: June 13, 2026 EliteDegrees
Heinrich Heine University of Dusseldorf is 376st in the world, 1st in North America, and 32st in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 27 notable alumni from Heinrich Heine University of Dusseldorf sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Heinrich Heine University of Dusseldorf won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Sabine Kastner
1991-1993 (aged 2)
neuroscientist
Sabine Kastner is a German-born American cognitive neuroscientist. She is professor of psychology at the Princeton Neuroscience Institute at Princeton University. She also holds a visiting scientist appointment at the University of California at Berkeley.
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2. Paul Enck
1949-. (aged 77)
psychologist
Paul Enck is Professor of Medical Psychology and was Head of Research at the Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Tübingen, Germany until 2014; since then, he holds a part-time research and consultant position at the department. His research interests were and still are psychophysiology and neurogastroenterology (i.e. stress research, pain research, biofeedback applications, cortical imaging, eating disorders,...
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3. Doris Abele
researcher
marine biologist
Doris Abele was an Antarctic marine biologist based at the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in Germany. She led the research group working on stress physiology and aging in marine invertebrates and also the Ecology Polar regions And Coasts in the changing Earth System (PACES) programme.
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4. Rüdiger Emshoff
1960-. (aged 66)
dentist
Rüdiger Emshoff is a German oral and maxillofacial surgeon and associate professor at the Medical University of Innsbruck, where he is head of the Orofacial Pain and Temporomandibular Disorder Unit. Emshoff is known for his work in the field of chronic orofacial pain management with a focus on the development of non-invasive and minimally-invasive methods in the diagnosis and treatment...
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5. Sabine Klewe
1966-. (aged 60)
translator
writer
Sabine Klewe pseudonym: Sabine Martin is a German writer, who published mainly crime novels.
6. Shelley Thompson
1984-. (aged 42)
association football player
Shelley Ann Thompson is a German football striker. Between 2001 and 2013, she played for several Bundesliga teams, Atlanta Beat (WPS) and Regis University Rangers (Denver, Colorado), and has scored 1 goal in 2 caps for the German national team. She is of South African and Zimbabwean descent.
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7. Sybille Krämer
1951-. (aged 75)
university teacher
scientist
philosopher
Sybille Krämer is a German philosopher. She held the position of professor at Freie University Berlin from 1989 until 2018. Since March 2019, Krämer serves as a senior professor at Leuphana University Lüneburg.
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8. Gerhard Hirschfeld
1946-. (aged 80)
historian of Modern Age
university teacher
librarian
social historian
contemporary historian
Gerhard Hirschfeld is a German historian and author. From 1989 to 2011, he was director of the Stuttgart-based Bibliothek für Zeitgeschichte / Library of Contemporary History, and has been a professor at the Institute of History of the University of Stuttgart since 1997. In 2016 he also became a visiting professor at the Institute for International Studies, University of Wuhan...
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9. Pei Xu
1966-. (aged 60)
poet
writer
Xu Pei is a Chinese-born German poet, writer, and human rights activist. Born in Sichuan, she left China in 1988 and studied in Germany. Xu became a German citizen in 2004, and lives in Cologne, Germany.
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10. Günter Theißen
1962-. (aged 64)
geneticist
university teacher
Günter Theißen is a German geneticist. He holds the chair of genetics at the University of Jena.
11. Annette Schavan
1955-. (aged 71)
politician
theologian
Annette Schavan is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU). She was the Federal Minister of Education and Research in the government of Chancellor Angela Merkel from 2005 to 2013, when she resigned following the revocation of her doctorate due to plagiarism. From 2014 until 2018 she served as the German Ambassador to the Holy See. From April...
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12. Mona Neubaur
1977-. (aged 49)
politician
Mona Neubaur is a German politician from Alliance 90/The Greens who has been serving as Deputy Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia and also as State Minister for Economics, Industry, Climate Protection and Energy in the second cabinet of Minister-President Hendrik Wüst since 29 June 2022. She was previously the leader of her party in North Rhine-Westphalia.
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13. Nyke Slawik
1994-. (aged 32)
politician
LGBTQ rights activist
Nyke Slawik is a German politician and member of the Bundestag representing the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia on the Alliance 90/The Greens list. Upon her election in the 2021 German federal election, Slawik and fellow politician Tessa Ganserer together became the first openly transgender people elected to the German parliament.
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14. Mahmut Özdemir
1987-. (aged 39)
jurist
politician
Mahmut Özdemir is a German politician for the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) who has been a member of the Bundestag since 2013, representing the Duisburg II district.
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15. Thomas Jarzombek
1973-. (aged 53)
economist
entrepreneur
politician
Thomas Jarzombek is a German politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been serving as a member of the Bundestag from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia since 2009.
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16. Archil Talakvadze
1983-. (aged 43)
physician
official
politician
Archil Talakvadze is a Georgian politician, who served as a Speaker of the Parliament of Georgia during 9th and 10th convocations since 25 June 2019. He was a leader of the Georgian Dream parliamentary majority from 2016 to 2019.
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17. Kerstin Griese
1966-. (aged 60)
historian
political scientist
politician
Kerstin Griese is a German politician of the Social Democratic Party (SPD) who has been serving as a member of the German Bundestag since 2000.
18. Eva Kreienkamp
1962-. (aged 64)
LGBTQ rights activist
businessperson
manager
Eva Kreienkamp is a German manager and businesswoman. Between 2015 and 2020, Kreienkamp held the position of Co-Managing Director of the Mainzer Verkehrsgesellschaft. Since 2020 Kreienkamp has been the chairperson of the board of the Berliner Verkehrsbetriebe; she succeeded Sigrid Nikutta on 1 October 2020.
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19. Mirja Boes
1971-. (aged 55)
stage actor
singer
Mirja Boes, also known under her stage name Möhre (German for "carrot"), is a German comedian, actress, and singer. Boes produces comedic party music, and also has released tracks of spoken comedy. She has released a number of singles and has also recorded with other German musicians, as part of the 'Mallorca All-Stars'. She won the 2007 German Comedy Award...
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20. Irakli Kobakhidze
1978-. (aged 48)
university teacher
lawyer
politician
Irakli Kobakhidze is a Georgian politician who holds the position of the 16th prime minister of Georgia since 2024 and chairman of Georgian Dream since 2025, having previously served in this role from 2021 to 2024.
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21. Heike Makatsch
1971-. (aged 55)
singer
narrator
screenwriter
film actor
voice actor
Heike Makatsch is a German actress. She is known for her roles as Lisa Addison in Resident Evil (2002), Mia in Love Actually (2003), as Liesel's mother in The Book Thief (2013), and as Carlotta Klatt in Where's Wanda? (2024).
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22. Karl Lauterbach
1963-. (aged 63)
health economist
non-fiction writer
university teacher
epidemiologist
politician
Karl Wilhelm Lauterbach is a German scientist, physician, and politician of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), who served as Federal Minister of Health from 2021 to 2025. He is professor of health economics and epidemiology at the University of Cologne (on leave since 2005). Since the 2005 German federal election, he has been a member of the Bundestag...
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23. Peter Beyer
1970-. (aged 56)
lawyer
politician
Peter Beyer is a German lawyer and politician of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) who has been a member of the German Bundestag since 2009.
24. Niema Movassat
1984-. (aged 42)
jurist
Niema Movassat is a German politician from The Left. He served as a member of the Bundestag from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia from 2009 to 2021.
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25. Harald zur Hausen
1936-2023 (aged 87)
physician
virologist
oncologist
university teacher
Harald zur Hausen NAS EASA APS was a German virologist. He carried out research on cervical cancer and discovered the role of papilloma viruses in cervical cancer, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2008. He was chairman of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) in Heidelberg.
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26. Alexander Nuno Alvaro
1975-. (aged 51)
lawyer
consultant
lobbyist
politician
Alexander Nuno Alvaro is a German politician and was a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) with the Free Democratic Party of Germany, which is part of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe. During his first mandate he worked in the European Parliament's Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs; he was a substitute for the Committee...
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27. Kurt Otto Friedrichs
1901-1982 (aged 81)
mathematician
university teacher
Kurt Otto Friedrichs was a German-American mathematician. He was the co-founder of the Courant Institute at New York University, and a recipient of the National Medal of Science.
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