Herbert Budka

Herbert Budka (born 22 September 1946) is an Austrian physician and neuropathologist. He was professor of neuropathology and director of the Clinical Institute of Neurology at the University of Vienna and Medical University of Vienna. His research has focused on infectious diseases of the nervous system, particularly HIV/AIDS and prion diseases, as well as neurodegenerative diseases and brain tumors. He was named Austrian Scientist of the Year for 1998 and received the City of Vienna Prize for Medical Sciences in 2010. Outside his academic work, he has been involved in medical human-rights initiatives, including Amnesty International and Hemayat.

Early life and education Budka was born on 22 September 1946 in Bad Kreuzen, Upper Austria. After Jellinger left the institute in 1975, Budka assumed increasing responsibility for diagnostic neuropathology.

In May 2012, Budka joined the Institute of Neuropathology at the University Hospital of Zürich as a consultant under its director, Adriano Aguzzi.

Together with Austrian and international collaborators, Budka subsequently investigated the neuropathology of large series of AIDS autopsies, including a 1987 study of 100 patients. His research addressed HIV-associated encephalitis, leukoencephalopathy, neuronal loss and the cellular localisation of HIV in the central nervous system. Subsequent work identified microglia and macrophages as principal sites of productive HIV infection in the brain. His work on infectious neuropathology also included tick-borne encephalitis and other viral infections of the nervous system. He subsequently participated in international collaborative studies addressing the molecular and phenotypic classification of sporadic CJD, including studies published in 1999 and 2003.

His collaborative work also included research on genetic prion diseases and international surveillance of CJD. A 2005 EUROCJD study examined the distribution and frequency of genetic prion diseases across participating countries. Another study published that year compared mortality from CJD and related disorders across Europe, Australia and Canada.

In 1996, the Austrian Reference Centre for Human Prion Diseases was formally established at the Neurological Institute, with Budka as its head. The centre combined epidemiological surveillance with diagnostic and research activities. His research included the application of immunohistochemical and molecular methods to brain-tumour diagnosis.

Professional and advisory activities Budka has held leadership positions in Austrian, European and international neuropathology organisations. He served several terms as president of the Austrian Society of Neuropathology and later became president of the European Confederation of Neuropathological Societies (Euro-CNS). In 2008, he delivered the Dorothy Russell Memorial Lecture and received the associated medal of the British Neuropathological Society.

In 2010, Budka received the City of Vienna Prize for Medical Sciences. The award recognised his lifetime achievement.

Personal life Budka has five children.

Selected publications