Faculty
MHB Faculty of Medicine and Psychology under new leadership
Neuruppin, 3 August 2026
The leadership of the Faculty of Medicine and Psychology at the Brandenburg Medical School Theodor Fontane (MHB) officially passed into the hands of a new team in Neuruppin last week. On 16 July the Faculty Council elected Prof. Dr. med. Joachim Behr as dean, in succession of Prof. Dr. Christine Holmberg. The new vice dean for academic and student affairs is Prof. Dr. med. Oliver Ritter. Prof. Behr will additionally act as interim vice dean for science and research until Prof. Dr. Anja Haase-Fielitz will officially take over.
This is the first time that three MHB university hospitals are represented in the faculty management: Prof. Behr from the university hospital Ruppin-Brandenburg (ukrb) in Neuruppin, Prof. Ritter from the university hospital Brandenburg an der Havel (UKB) and Prof. Haase-Fielitz from the cardiac center in Bernau (Immanuel Herzzentrum Brandenburg). This reflects the MHB structure across different locations in line with the underlying networking philosophy. The new leadership takes over from a successful team with Prof. Dr. Christine Holmberg, Prof. Dr. med. Thomas Stamm and Prof. Dr. med. Karsten-Henrich Weylandt.
Prof. Dr. med. Joachim Behr has been a member of the MHB since it was founded in 2014. The Chief Physician at the ukrb clinic of psychiatry, psychotherapy and psychosomatics holds an MHB professorship of psychiatry and psychotherapy. Prof. Dr. med. Oliver Ritter became a professor of internal medicine and cardiology at the MHB in July 2015 and is in charge of the UKB clinic of cardiology, nephrology and pneumology. Prof. Dr. Anja Haase-Fielitz also joined the MHB in 2015 and is active as scientific coordinator at the Bernau cardiac center.
The faculty managers are responsible for the strategic development of the faculty and shape the framework conditions for studies, teaching and research. They represent the faculty within the university and form part of its academic self-administration.
Prof. Behr thanked the faculty for the confidence placed in the new team and found words of praise for his predecessor.
“I am grateful for the trust shown by the faculty council and am looking forward to the new responsibilities. Christine Holmberg and her team have advanced the faculty with great dedication over the past years, and we plan to continue in the same spirit. We aim to strengthen the high quality of studies and teaching, provide supportive conditions for research and expand exchange between our sites and participating hospitals. Equally important in my opinion is a culture of trustworthy cooperation and mutual appreciation. For students, teachers and staff alike, the MHB should be an environment of mutual respect where all can contribute their thoughts and efforts. Bringing together our different perspectives and strengths, we will create best possible conditions for success and progress at the faculty and the MHB”, so Prof. Behr.
MHB president Prof. Dr. Hans-Uwe Simon underlined the importance of the new faculty leadership for future developments at the MHB: “My heartfelt thanks go to Christine Holmberg, Thomas Stamm and Karsten-Henrich Weylandt who assumed responsibility for the faculty for the past two years and showed immense personal commitment. Their term of office was marked by the implementation of the new program in dental medicine, cuts in funding from the regional government, and the third build-up of the Brandenburg Medical Model Curriculum. Joachim Behr, Oliver Ritter and Anja Haase-Fielitz as designated vice dean now constitute another team of experienced personalities with long-term involvement in MHB affairs and best prospects to proactively shape advances in teaching, research and patient care. The fact that the faculty will now be exclusively led by professors from the university hospitals underlines the MHB philosophy of close cooperation across locations. This concept of networking is a key requirement for future development and also for the successful preparation of reaccreditation procedures with the Science Council.”