Harald zur Hausen

Harald zur Hausen NAS EASA APS (; 11 March 1936 – 29 May 2023) was a German virologist. He carried out research on cervical cancer and discovered the role of papilloma viruses in cervical cancer, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2008. He was chairman of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) in Heidelberg.

Early life and education Zur Hausen was born in Gelsenkirchen in a Catholic family. He completed his Abitur at Antonianum Grammar School in Vechta, then studied medicine at the universities of Bonn from 1955, Hamburg from 1957, and Düsseldorf from 1958, and received a Doctor of Medicine degree there in 1960. who had escaped from Nazi Germany. In 1967, he contributed to a ground-breaking study that for the first time proved a virus (Epstein–Barr virus) can turn healthy cells (lymphocytes) into cancer cells. This was followed by the discovery of HPV18 a year later, thus identifying the causes of approximately 75% of human cervical cancer. The announcement of his breakthrough sparked a major scientific controversy.

From 1983 until 2003, zur Hausen served as chairman of the board and scientific advisory board member of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) in Heidelberg

From 2007 to 2011, zur Hausen was a member of the scientific advisory board of Zukunftskolleg at the University of Konstanz. He was editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Cancer until the end of 2010. On 1 January 2010, zur Hausen became the vice president of German Cancer Aid (Deutsche Krebshilfe), the largest cancer charity in Europe.

The award of the 2008 Nobel Prize to zur Hausen became controversial following the revelation that Bo Angelin, a member of the Nobel Assembly that year, also sat on the board of AstraZeneca, a company that earns patent royalties for HPV vaccines. The controversy was exacerbated by the fact that AstraZeneca had also entered into a partnership with Nobel Web and Nobel Media to sponsor documentaries and lectures to increase awareness of the prize. and the secretary of the Nobel Committee and Assembly issued a statement affirming that Bo Angelin was unaware of AstraZeneca's HPV vaccine patents at the time of the vote.

Zur Hausen died on 29 May 2023, at age 87.

Books

Awards Robert Koch Prize (1975) Lila and Murray Gruber Memorial Cancer Research Award from the American Academy of Dermatology (1985) Charles S. Mott Prize (1986)

Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize (1994) International member of the American Philosophical Society (1998)

Raymond Bourgine Award (2006) William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic and Tumor Immunology (with Ian Frazer) (2006) Loeffler-Frosch Medal of Erlangen(2007) AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research (2008) Gairdner Foundation International Award (2008) Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2008) Tsungming-Tu Prize (2011) Mike Price Gold Medal Award from The European Association for Cancer Research (2014)

Memberships Member of the Academia Europaea (1990) Member of the American Philosophical Society (1998) Honorary Member European Academy of Sciences and Arts (2008) Foreign Member of the Finnish Society of Sciences and Letters (2010)

Honorary Fellow of the World Hellenic Biomedical Association (2013) Fellow of the American Association for Cancer Research (2013) Honorary Member of the German Society of Virology (2013) Corresponding member of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (June 2015) Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2017)