Data4Life announces the appointment of Dr. Ben Illigens as new CEO by the Hasso Plattner Foundation

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POTSDAM, Germany, Sept. 1, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Data4Life announces that the Hasso Plattner Foundation, as the supporting foundation of the organization, has appointed Dr. Ben Illigens as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). He succeeds Christian Weiss, who has shaped the development phase of Data4Life since 2017 and will continue to advise the organization in a consulting role.

With more than 15 years of experience at the intersection of clinical research, digital transformation, and global health initiatives, Dr. Illigens brings extensive expertise in neurology, oncology, digital health strategies, and data integration. His focus is on leveraging health data to advance precision medicine and public health—fully aligned with Data4Life's mission.

"Digital technologies and artificial intelligence are fundamentally transforming health research and care. They hold enormous promise but also raise important questions of ethics, equity, and bias. My goal is to strengthen Data4Life as a bridge between clinical research, technology, and practice, ensuring that innovations are implemented fairly, responsibly, and sustainably," said Dr. Ben Illigens.

Dr. Rouven Westphal, member of the Executive Board of the Hasso Plattner Foundation, added:

"Christian Weiss has made an important contribution to building Data4Life and establishing the organization within the digital health ecosystem. We are deeply grateful to him. With the appointment of Dr. Ben Illigens, we are ensuring that Data4Life can take the next steps in its development and further expand its international role."

Strategic Focus of Data4Life

Data4Life aims to make health research more efficient, transparent, and inclusive. Its priorities include:

• Expanding Data2Evidence as an international open-source platform
• Advancing D4L Collect for the standardized, interoperable collection of wearable data, Clinical Outcome Assessments (COAs), and Patient-Reported Outcomes (PROs)
• Actively contributing to the OHDSI community to promote open standards and tools for global scientific collaboration

Since 2017, Data4Life has been collaborating with leading institutions such as Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam to accelerate the translation of research results into clinical practice.

About Data4Life

The D4L data4life gGmbH is a nonprofit health tech organization founded in 2017 and headquartered in Potsdam, Germany. It is funded by the Hasso Plattner Foundation as sole shareholder. Data4Life's mission is to make health data available for research in the fields of public health and precision medicine, with the goal of significantly improving prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.

More information: www.data4life.care

About Hasso Plattner Foundation

The Hasso Plattner Foundation is a non-profit foundation based in Potsdam. It was founded in 2015 by Hasso Plattner. The foundation is active in the fields of science and education, social affairs and nature conservation, as well as art and culture. Among other initiatives, it supports the Hasso Plattner Institute as an independent Faculty of Digital Engineering at the University of Potsdam, cultural institutions in Potsdam such as the Museum Barberini and DAS MINSK Kunsthaus, as well as projects on the African continent and international education initiatives.

More information: www.plattnerfoundation.org/en/ 

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Press contact:

Daniela Wilberg
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SOURCE D4L data4life gGmbH