Professor Martin Paul has been Rector/President of the Ruhr-University Bochum since November 2021. Previously, he was President of Maastricht University (UM) in the Netherlands. After his medical studies and doctorate at the University of Heidelberg, he held several academic positions in Germany, the United States and the Netherlands.
In addition to his career as a researcher in (clinical) pharmacology and toxicology, as well as in the field of hypertension, he has served in academic management, for example as Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the Free University Berlin and a member of the Executive Board of Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin. In 2008 he moved to Maastricht University where he holds a Chair in Clinical Pharmacology next to his professorial appointment in Experimental Medicine at Ruhr University Bochum.
In addition to his activities in research and teaching Professor Paul has actively promoted the professionalization of academic governance structures and strategies at international level. In this context, he has chaired DEAN, a European network of deans and academic leaders. He was also a board member of the Association of Academic Health Centers and chair of its international steering group. From 2016 to 2021, he served as a member of the expert panel of the German Research Excellence Strategy and from 2016 to 2022 he advised the Austrian Government as a member of the Austrian Science Council.
Furthermore, he was the initiator and first chair of the European University Alliance YUFE (Young Universities for the future of Europe). Currently, he is active in several advisory and supervisory bodies in Germany, Europe and beyond. He is the recipient of numerous awards and three honorary doctorates. In 2021 he has been appointed as officer in the chivalric order of Oranje-Nassau by his majesty the king of the Netherlands for his contributions to higher education in the Netherlands and beyond.