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Chair and Secretary-General
Professor Dr Wolfgang Wick | Chair
Wolfgang Wick has been chairman of the German Science and Humanities Council (WR/Wissenschaftsrat) since 1 February 2023. Since 2021, he has been a member of the science policy advisory body of the federal and state governments, and since 2022, he has been chairman of the WR Medicine Committee. Wolfgang Wick was confirmed in office at the winter meetings of the Science Council in 2026 and is thus entering his fourth term.
Wolfgang Wick is Medical Director of the Neurological Clinic at Heidelberg University Hospital, Center Spokesperson of the Head Clinic based there, and Head of Department of Neurooncology at the German Cancer Research Center. Wick's research includes brain tumors, tumor immunology, biomarker development, imaging and stroke care.
He is one of the most frequently cited researchers in his field worldwide.
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Esther Seng | Secretary-General
Esther Seng has been Secretary-General of the German Science and Humanities Council (WR, Wissenschaftsrat) since July 2025.
A fully qualified lawyer, she brings more than two decades of experience in German science and research policy to the role. From 2019 to 2025, she was Head of the Division for Fundamental Issues, Digitalisation and Transfer at the Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR).