Melanie dos Santos Mendes

Melanie dos Santos Mendes is head of the National and International Relations division at Forschungszentrum Jülich. She completed a Ph.D. in Geography at RWTH Aachen University before moving into science management in 2013. Together with her department, she is responsible for strategic national and international partnerships, science diplomacy initiatives, and the further development of research security. She is currently chair of the International Affairs Working Group within the HGF, having previously been a member of the EU’s Science Diplomacy Expert Group from 2024–2025.