August 05, 2025 | News | Excellent!

Lara Bister receives German Thesis Award

Lara Bister received the first prize in the social sciences section of the Körber Foundation's German Thesis Award for her doctoral thesis on economic crises and health, with a focus on the long-term health effects of German reunification on children born during the transition period in East Germany. She began her academic career as a participant in the EDSD and IMPRS-PHDS doctoral programs at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research.

Winner of the German Thesis Award 2025. Lara Bister, 1st prize in the social sciences section. © David Ausserhofer/Körber-Stiftung

Economic crises can significantly impact the future health of affected children and adolescents. In her dissertation, Lara Bister investigated the long-term health consequences of the reunification period for children who grew up in East Germany at that time. She used representative survey and questionnaire, as well as pension insurance data, to reflect the physical and mental health of these children in young adulthood. The results revealed that children affected by reunification experienced significantly poorer metabolic health and more frequent mental health issues compared to their West German counterparts. Women are more affected than men. These health effects can be attributed to the social shock resulting from the structural crisis in East Germany following reunification. Lara's research makes an important contribution to our understanding of the ongoing differences between young people in eastern and western Germany.

"Participating in the European Doctoral School of Demography (EDSD) and the International Max Planck Research School for Population, Health and Data Science (IMPRS-PHDS) taught me about a variety of statistical methods and data sources, which were instrumental in writing my doctoral thesis. Furthermore, my research has greatly benefited from the close collaboration with my fellow doctoral students in both programmes, as well as the network I have established", says Lara Bister.

2025 Prize Winners

Each year, the Körber Foundation awards one first prize and two second prizes in each of three academic fields: the social sciences; the natural sciences, and the humanities and cultural studies.

About the German Study Prize

The German Study Prize is awarded annually to outstanding young scientists in all disciplines. The Foundation awards a total of 135,000 euros in prizes for excellent dissertations of particular social significance. The German Study Prize is thus one of the most highly endowed prizes for young scientists in Germany. The patron is Bundestag President Julia Klöckner. In December, she will present the 2025 prize at the German Parliamentary Society in Berlin.

This text is based on the Körber Foundation's press release (German only): koerber-stiftung.de