Prof. Dr. Angela Zink

Angela Zink was in charge of the thematic orientation of the epidemiological research at the DRFZ. She has been the head of the epidemiology unit (formerly: epidemiology research unit) since its foundation in 1991 to 2020. This research unit establishes extensive patient cohorts, which are used to visualise the successes and shortcomings in the treatment of rheumatic patients. Since 2003 until 2020, she has additionally been professor for rheumatism epidemiology at the Clinic for Rheumatology and Clinical Immunology of the Charité University Hospital Berlin. She has been deputy scientific director of the DRFZ from 1996 to 2020.
Angela Zink started her epidemiological research activities at the German Federal Health Department (today Robert Koch Institute) with investigations concerning the health care of rheumatic patients. Later on, she conducted research projects on infant mortality, child accidents, cultural determinants of subjective disease perception and the evaluation of new health care services for children suffering from chronic diseases. She was actively involved in the organisation of the study course “Social medicine for sociologists” at the Free University of Berlin and has been engaged in the social medical and epidemiological education of medical professionals for many years.
Within the rheumatism epidemiology research, she is especially interested in issues concerning the quality and appropriateness of health care, including the identification of deficits and trends in the treatment process, the prognosis of rheumatic diseases in childhood and adulthood, the testing of new therapeutic methods as well as the long-term safety of new drugs. She places special focus on the interaction of biological, clinical and social factors, which can only be examined in a highly diversified interdisciplinary team.
In 2001, Angela Zink initiated one of the world’s major biologics registers, in which nearly 18,000 patients are now being observed. The results obtained from this register provide a solid basis to assess the risks and opportunities of the widespread application of new therapies on unselected patients. Furthermore, the study group around Angela Zink has always been actively involved in testing new therapeutic methods in randomised clinical trials in close cooperation with the rheumatologists of the Charité.
Angela Zink has been author or co-author of roughly 180 original publications and 60 reviews and book chapters. She is a member of the advisory board of the German Society for Rheumatology, co-publisher of the Journal of Rheumatology, deputy spokeswoman of the Competence Network Rheumatology and spokeswoman of the health care research unit, member of the Executive Committee of EULAR (European League against Rheumatism) and chairwoman of the EULAR Standing Committee on Epidemiology and Health Services Research.
For her research, she has received the Federal Cross of Merit, the rheo Progress Prize of the German Rheumatism League, the Francois Blondel Medal of the City of Aachen and, together with the core documentation team, the Kussmaul Medal of the German Society for Rheumatology.

From 2003 –  2020
Professor of Epidemiology of the Rheumatic Diseases, Charité University Medicine Berlin, now prefessor emeritus.

From 1996 -2020
Deputy Scientific Director of the German Rheumatism Research Centre, Berlin (DRFZ)

From 1991 to 2020
Head of the DRFZ Programme Area Epidemiology

1985 – 1991
Head of Department of Epidemiology and Health Services Research at GSD Health Systems Research Ltd., Berlin

1977 – 1985
Research and Teaching in Epidemiology and Medical Sociology in various Research Institutes and the Free University of Berlin

1998
Habilitation in Epidemiology (Charité Berlin)

1984
PhD in Medical Sociology (Free University of Berlin)

1972 – 1977
Studies of Sociology, Psychology and Economics; Diploma from Free University of Berlin in 1977

From 2018
Member of the Scientific Committee of FOREUM (Foundation for Research in Rheumatology)

Since 2013
Member of Leibniz Prize Jury

Since 2012
Faculty/host of annual EULAR Advanced Epidemiology Course

Since 2006
Member of several EULAR task forces and working groups

Since 2005
Editor Zeitschrift fuer Rheumatologie

Since 2005
Member of several committees for professorships at the Charité University Medicine

Since 2002
Member of the Advisory Board of the German Society for Rheumatology

Since 2000
Speaker of Health Services Research Section of Competence Network Rheumatology

2009 – 2012
Chair / past chair of Standing Committee on Epidemiology of EULAR (European League against Rheumatism)

2006 – 2011
Speaker (2006-07) and deputy speaker (2008-2011) of German Competence Network Rheumatology

• Honorary member of EULAR
• American College for Rheumatology
• German Society for Rheumatology
• German Society for Social Medicine and Prevention
• German Society for Epidemiology
• German Society for Medical Sociology
• German Network Healthcare Research

2023
EULAR Meritorious Service Award

2016
Carol-Nachman-Medal

2010
Rheo Price of Progress

2010
Francois-Blondel-Medal

1999
Federal Cross of Merit

1997
Tosse Prize

2011 – 2018
National Database of the Arthritis Centres (unconditional grant from industry consortium, 900,000 EUR)

2015 – 2018
PROCLAIR and Metarthros (BMBF: 685.000 EUR)

2011 – 2018
RABBIT – Biologics Register in RA (unconditional grant from industry consortium, jointly with Strangfeld, 50% of total = 3,500,000 EUR)

1. Redeker I, Hoffmann F, Callhoff J, Haibel H, Sieper J, Zink A, Poddubnyy D. Determinants of psychological well-being in axial spondyloarthritis: an analysis based on linked claims and patient-reported survey data. Ann Rheum Dis 2018 Mar 10 (online first)
2. Albrecht K, Luque Ramos A, Hoffmann F, Redeker I, Zink A. High prevalence of diabetes in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: Results from a questionnaire survey linked to claims data. Rheumatology (Oxford). 2018; 57(2):329-336
3. Baganz L, Richter A, Kekow J, Bussmann A, Krause A, Stille C, Listing J, Zink A, Strangfeld A. Long-term effectiveness of tocilizumab in patients with rheumatoid arthritis, stratified by number of previous treatment failures with biologic agents: results from the German RABBIT cohort. Rheumatol Int 2018; 38(4):579-587
4. Albrecht K, Huscher D, Buttgereit F, Aringer M, Hoese G, Ochs W, Thiele K, Zink A. Long-term glucocorticoid treatment in patients with polymyalgia rheumatica, giant cell arteritis, or both diseases: results from a national rheumatology database. Rheumatol Int. 2018 Apr;38(4):569-577.
5. Meissner Y, Richter A, Manger B, Tony HP, Wilden E, Listing J, Zink A, Strangfeld A. Serious adverse events and the risk of stroke in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: results from the German RABBIT cohort. Ann Rheum Dis 2017; 76(9):1583-1590.
6. Strangfeld A, Richter A, Siegmund B, Herzer P, Rockwitz K, Demary W, Aringer M, Meissner Y, Zink A, Listing J. Risk for lower intestinal perforations in patients with rheumatoid arthritis treated with tocilizumab in comparison to treatment with other biologic or conventional synthetic DMARDs. Ann Rheum Dis 2017; 76(3):504-510.
7. Callhoff J, Luque Ramos A, Zink A, Hoffmann F, Albrecht K. The Association of Low Income with Functional Status and Disease Burden in German Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Results of a Cross-sectional Questionnaire Survey Based on Claims Data. J Rheumatol. 2017;44(6):766-772
8. Albrecht K, Richter A, Callhoff J, Huscher D, Schett G, Strangfeld A, Zink A. Body mass index distribution in rheumatoid arthritis: a collaborative analysis from three large German rheumatoid arthritis databases. Arthritis Res Ther 2016; 18:149
9. Callhoff J, Luque Ramos A, Zink A, Hoffmann F, Albrecht K. The Association of Low Income with Functional Status and Disease Burden in German Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: Results of a Cross-sectional Questionnaire Survey Based on Claims Data. J Rheumatol 2017; 44(6):766-772.
10. Albrecht K, Callhoff J, Buttgereit F, Straub RH, Westhoff G, Zink A. Association Between the Use of Oral Contraceptives and Patient-Reported Outcomes in an Early Arthritis Cohort. Arthritis Care Res (Hoboken ) 2016;68(3):400-405.