Richard Schäfer, MD, FRSB, is a professor and medical director of transfusion medicine at the Institute for Transfusion Medicine and Gene Therapy of the Medical Center of the University of Freiburg. A graduate from Heidelberg University, Schäfer completed his training in internal medicine and transfusion medicine at Tübingen University. He was a postdoctoral fellow at the Harvard University Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology and visiting assistant professor at Stanford University. He has authored more than 80 peer-reviewed publications in the fields of stem cell biology, clinical cellular therapies and transfusion medicine. In addition to his scientific work, he has a strong interest in teaching and in developing novel teaching formats.