Connecting Research Across the Atlantic
Interview with Stephan Isernhagen
Dr. Stephan Isernhagen is Director of the DFG Office North America, representing the German Research Foundation in the United States and Canada. Based across the DFG’s North America presence in Washington, DC, New York, and San Francisco, he supports scientific exchange and cooperation between Germany and North America and serves as a point of contact for researchers and institutions interested in DFG funding and collaboration opportunities. Dr. Isernhagen has been with the DFG for more than eleven years. Before taking on his current role in January 2026, he served as Programme Director for committee support related to Germany’s Excellence Strategy, Programme Director, and Officer in Research Management at the DFG’s headquarters in Bonn. He also has an academic background in the humanities: his doctoral dissertation at Bielefeld University examined Susan Sontag and the New York intellectuals.
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