Harald Zur Hausen(1936-2023)
After finishing school with a high school diploma in Vechta in 1955, he studied medicine at the universities of Bonn, Hamburg and Düsseldorf and received his doctorate in Düsseldorf in 1960. He then worked as a medical assistant for two years and then as a research assistant for three years at the Institute for Medical Microbiology at the University of Düsseldorf. This was followed by three and a half years at the Virus Laboratories at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Here he was also an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania. In 1969 he completed his habilitation at the Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg, where he worked at the Institute for Virology.
From the 1970s onwards he focused on the human papillomavirus (HPV), known to cause skin warts. In 1972 he was appointed professor at the newly founded chair of clinical virology at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. Zur Hausen's interest now turned to the role of viruses in the development of tumors. In 1976 he published the hypothesis that human papilloma viruses (wart viruses) play a role in the development of cervical cancer. In 1977 he accepted an appointment to the chair of virology and hygiene at the University of Freiburg.
At the beginning of the 1980s, he and his working group were able to isolate the types HPV 16 and HPV 18 of the human papilloma virus from tissue affected by cervical cancer for the first time. The discovery of the trigger for the third most common cancer in women opened up completely new perspectives for prevention and treatment and ultimately led to the development of HPV vaccines. From 1983 to 2003 he was chairman and scientific member of the board of trustees of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg.
Under his leadership, the cancer research center, which does not have a clinical bed department, significantly expanded its collaboration with individual university hospitals. Zur Hausen, meanwhile, became Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Cancer. In addition to other scientific organizations, he became a member of the US Academy of Science and vice president of the Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina. In April 2004 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit. In 2006 he received the Medal of Merit from the state of Baden-Württemberg.
On November 4, 2008, he was made an honorary citizen of the municipality of Wald-Michelbach. On December 10, 2008, Harald zur Hausen was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine together with the Frenchman Luc Montagnier and the Frenchwoman Françoise Barré-Sinoussi.
In his private life, Harald zur Hausen is married to Professor Ethel-Michele de Villiers, who also works at the German Cancer Research Center. He is the father of three sons.
From the 1970s onwards he focused on the human papillomavirus (HPV), known to cause skin warts. In 1972 he was appointed professor at the newly founded chair of clinical virology at the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg. Zur Hausen's interest now turned to the role of viruses in the development of tumors. In 1976 he published the hypothesis that human papilloma viruses (wart viruses) play a role in the development of cervical cancer. In 1977 he accepted an appointment to the chair of virology and hygiene at the University of Freiburg.
At the beginning of the 1980s, he and his working group were able to isolate the types HPV 16 and HPV 18 of the human papilloma virus from tissue affected by cervical cancer for the first time. The discovery of the trigger for the third most common cancer in women opened up completely new perspectives for prevention and treatment and ultimately led to the development of HPV vaccines. From 1983 to 2003 he was chairman and scientific member of the board of trustees of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg.
Under his leadership, the cancer research center, which does not have a clinical bed department, significantly expanded its collaboration with individual university hospitals. Zur Hausen, meanwhile, became Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of Cancer. In addition to other scientific organizations, he became a member of the US Academy of Science and vice president of the Academy of Natural Scientists Leopoldina. In April 2004 he was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit. In 2006 he received the Medal of Merit from the state of Baden-Württemberg.
On November 4, 2008, he was made an honorary citizen of the municipality of Wald-Michelbach. On December 10, 2008, Harald zur Hausen was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology/Medicine together with the Frenchman Luc Montagnier and the Frenchwoman Françoise Barré-Sinoussi.
In his private life, Harald zur Hausen is married to Professor Ethel-Michele de Villiers, who also works at the German Cancer Research Center. He is the father of three sons.