Our Team

Dr. Zarifa Mamedova

General Manager for the PCH2cure initiative.

Zarifa Mamedova serves as General Manager for the PCH2cure initiative in Germany, where she advocates for innovative research approaches to treating genetically driven diseases. She oversees strategic development, fundraising, and partnership engagement. With her dedication to sustainable solutions and her expertise in fostering collaboration between science and industry, she plays a vital
role in advancing the initiative’s mission.

Before joining PCH2cure, Zarifa Mamedova led the Female Science Talents program at the Falling Walls Foundation, where she built global networks to promote women leaders in science and research. Focusing on strategic development, partnerships, and targeted talent support, she empowered women to drive transformative innovation. She also served as Managing Director of JOBLINGE gAG Munich, where she was responsible for developing programs that helped young people from underprivileged backgrounds transition into the workforce. Zarifa Mamedova holds a doctoral degree in Slavic literature and culture as well as a magister’s degree in comparative literature, organizational psychology, and intercultural communication from Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich.

Contact: 8C@]6CF4a94Ao2G@56>2>]K

Lea Hüper

Project Manager at PCH2cure.

Lea Hüper has an MSc in Neuroscience and experience in clinical and preclinical research. As part of her work in the PCH2cure project, she coordinates the exchange between team members from research, the clinical sector and the patient organization.

Contact:  8C@]6CF4a94AoC6A6F9]=

Dr. Saskia Frölich

PCH2cure team member.

Saskia Frölich is a medical doctor with several years of experience in pediatrics and child and adolescent psychiatry. She wrote her doctoral thesis on the “natural history of pontocerebellar hypoplasia type 2” at the University of Tübingen and was involved in the publication of the first parent brochure. 

Saskia Frölich is the mother of five children. 

She writes website texts for the PCH2cure project and contributed on the parent brochure 2.0.

Contact: 8C@]6CF4a94Ao94:=6@C7]D

Dirk Strecker

Founding member of the PCH-Familie e.V. association and volunteer administrator, moderator for web services and adviser on social media topics.

Father of two daughters, the older of whom has PCH2. 

Dirk Strecker blogs on the subject of outpatient intensive care from a caring parent’s perspective and has been active in support groups for children with neurological diseases both locally and online since 2004. He is a regional representative of the nationwide association INTENSIVkinder zuhause e.V.

Dirk Strecker is a registered nurse with qualifications in pediatric palliative care and coordinator of a children’s hospice service. He has been working in nursing management for 15 years, initially for pediatric intensive care services and currently for his daughter’s team.

Contact: 8C@]6CF4a94AoC6<46CED]5