Gudrun Rappold

Gudrun A. Rappold, born August 27, 1954 in Heilbronn, is a German human geneticist known for her research on genetic diseases at the University of Heidelberg.

Education
After studying biological sciences in Heidelberg, Konstanz, and Stanford (USA), Rappold earned her doctorate in 1984 at the University of Heidelberg under the supervision of Thomas Cremer and Friedrich Vogel. Her research has focused on the role of human sex chromosomes, which she continued as a post-doctoral researcher at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Mammalian Genome Unit with Howard Cooke in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Research
At the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg and the Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF) in London, her work with Hans Lehrach has focused on novel genomic techniques in mouse and human genetics. In 1990, she established her own research group at the Institute of Human Genetics in Heidelberg, supported by the Gerhard Hess Program of the German Research Foundation.

From 2003 to 2022, she has held the position of full professor and chair of the newly created Department of Molecular Human Genetics at the Medical Faculty of the University of Heidelberg. She is also a co-opted member of the Faculty of Biosciences at Heidelberg University.

Career
Rappold's primary research focus is on investigating the molecular mechanisms underlying genetic developmental disorders. She specifically studies neurodevelopmental disordes and the genetic causes of intellectual disability and autism. Additionally, she explores the regulation of transcription factors during growth and development in different disorders. She has identified and functionally characterised several novel disease genes by employing different techniques such as genome editing, cell culture-based methods, induced pluripotent stem cells, and animal models. More recently she became involved in the protection of genetic minorities.

In 1997, she filed a patent for a human growth gene and treatment in multiple countries.

Rappold is a member of the Center of Rare Diseases, an associate member of the Excellence Cluster CellNetworks, member of the Interdisciplinary Center of Neurosciences and the German Cardiology Centre (DZHK). Her expertise extends to international advisory boards and governmental bodies in the field of science and scientific advice to the courts. She has co-coordinated an international multicentric diagnostic and clinical trial and provides consultancy services to the biomedical industry.

Awards and honours

 * 1985-1986: International Postdoctoral Research Fellowship awarded by the DAAD
 * 1989: Gerhard Hess Prize by Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
 * 1990: Award for Basic Research of State Baden-Württemberg