von Braun is an economist, with a Doctoral degree in agricultural economics from University of Göttingen, Germany. He joined ZEF as Professor and Director of the Department for Economic and Technological Change in December 2009. He was also Director of ZEF during its foundation phase 1997-2002. von Braun was Director General of the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) based in Washington, DC, U.S.A. 2002 to 2009. His research addresses international and development economics topics, incl. markets and trade; poverty; health and nutrition; agriculture, and science and technology. von Braun is President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences of the Vatican and was President of the International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE), he is member of the German National Academy of Sciences   Leopoldina, Academy of Science of North-Rhine Westphalia, German Academy of Science and Engineering (acatech), and Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences; he is Vice-President of the NGO “Welthungerhilfe”, Co-Chair of the International Advisory Committee on Bioeconomy, and he serves as Chair of the Scientific Group for the Food Systems Summit 2021 of the UN Secretary General; among awards received by von Braun are a honorary Doctoral degree from University of Hohenheim, and the Bertebos Prize of the Swedish Academy of Agricultural Sciences for his research on food security, and the Justus von Liebig Prize for his research on international nutrition. (More details see CV)