Christian P. Schaaf is the Medical Director and Department Chair of the Institute of Human Genetics at Heidelberg University (Germany). He received an MD from Heidelberg University Medical School in 2005. He completed a residency in Clinical Genetics at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston (USA) in 2010. He studies the genetic causes of neurodevelopmental and neuropsychiatric disorders. His work has led to the discovery of multiple new disease genes, and three disorders have been named after him: Schaaf-Yang syndrome, Bosch-Boonstra-Schaaf Optic Atrophy syndrome, and Marbach-Schaaf Neurodevelopmental syndrome. His groundbreaking work has been recognized with many awards, including a Doris Duke Clinical Scientist Development Award, the William K. Bowes Award for Medical Genetics by Partners Healthcare and Harvard Medical School, the inaugural Seldin-Smith Award for Pioneering Research by the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the Wilhelm Vaillant Prize.