Award-winning dissertation
Dr. Franca auf der Heiden is the recipient of this year’s Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Dissertation Prize in Physics. She received the award last Friday, November 7, 2025, during the graduation ceremony of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Wuppertal (BUW). The prize is awarded jointly by the Department of Physics at the University of Wuppertal and the Physics Department at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf (HHU) for the best dissertation in the field of physics. It is endowed with 4,000 euros and funded by the Wilhelm and Else Heraeus Foundation.
The prize winner successfully defended her doctoral thesis in January 2025 at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at BUW. Franca auf der Heiden conducted her research at the Jülich Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1) in the "Fiber Architecture" research group. Her supervisors were Prof. Markus Axer, who also represents the field of brain imaging in the Department of Physics at BUW, and Dr. Miriam Menzel (TU Delft). The topic of her dissertation: "High-Speed Multi-Modal Scattering Polarimetry for Nerve Fiber Imaging".
The jury, chaired by Prof. Hartmut Löwen (HHU) and Prof. Francesco Knechtli (BUW, deputy chair), had invited four candidates to the final colloquium at the end of October. In her presentation, "Multimodal microscopy: Mapping the brain with polarimetry and light scattering," Franca auf der Heiden impressed the panel.
Development of a Novel Microscope
The aim of Franca auf der Heiden’s dissertation was to visualize the complex fiber architecture of the human brain with previously unattainable microscopic precision. Macroscopic imaging techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provide valuable but resolution-limited insights into the connectivity of nerve cells.
The method developed by the awardee opens up access to an additional dimension in research on natural neural networks. Her novel microscope, a scattering polarimeter, combines several physical contrast mechanisms—including polarimetry, diattenuation, and scattered light analysis—into a single device. The instrument enables multimodal investigation of serial, large-area brain sections on the micrometer scale, thereby closing a methodological gap in neuroscience between macroscopic MRI and nanometer-resolution electron microscopy.
Study in Scientific Reports:
auf der Heiden, F., Axer, M., Amunts, K. et al. Scattering polarimetry enables correlative nerve fiber imaging and multimodal analysis. Sci Rep 15, 18493 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-02762-w