Stephan Tanneberger

Stephan Tanneberger (December 27, 1935 – March 5, 2018) was a German oncologist and chemist who held leading positions in cancer research and therapy in the German Democratic Republic (GDR), serving as director of the Zentralinstitut für Krebsforschung (Central Institute of Cancer Research) of the Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR (Academy of Sciences of the German Democratic Republic) from 1974 until 1990. He left Germany in 1991 to work in the field of palliative care for cancer patients in Italy as well as in various countries in the Third World. In 2005, he founded a Center for Peace Work in Anklam in northeast Germany.

Career Stephan Tanneberger was born in 1935 in Chemnitz and enrolled in medicine and chemistry at the University of Leipzig in 1954, where he obtained his Ph.D. in 1961 and his M.D. in 1964 as well as his Habilitation in 1970. In 1971, he took up a position as senior physician at the Zentralinstitut für Krebsforschung of the Akademie der Wissenschaften der DDR in Berlin-Buch where he was promoted to chief physician in 1972 and to deputy director in 1973. which coordinated the activities of all medical institutes of the academy.

After the German reunification in 1990, Tanneberger left Germany and worked as consultant for the World Health Organization in various third world countries, among them Bangladesh, India, North Korea and Albania. In 1993, he took up the position as head of quality control for Associazione Nazionale Tumori (ANT), He also directs a program of the European School of Oncology aimed at improving education and information exchange in the field of cancer control in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Moldova, Georgia, Romania and Ukraine since 2005 and the Euro-Arab School of Oncology since 2008.

Tanneberger has published several books about his experience regarding treatment of cancer and care for terminally ill patients. In addition to his medical activities, he is also active in the field of peace work. In 2004, he launched the foundation Zentrum für Friedensarbeit - Otto Lilienthal - Hansestadt Anklam (Center for Peace Work) in Anklam in northeast Germany.

Awards and distinctions

In recognition of his work, Tanneberger received numerous national and international awards and distinctions. In 1986, he was awarded the honorary title Verdienter Wissenschaftler des Volkes (Merited Scientist of the GDR). The Academy of Sciences of the GDR made him a corresponding member in 1981 and an ordinary member in 1989.

Selected publications

The Control of Tumour Growth and its Biological Bases. Boston and Den Haag, 1983 Cancer In Developing Countries: The Great Challenge For Oncology In The 21st Century. Munich, 2004 Cancer Medicine At The Dawn Of The 21st Century. Bologna, 2006 ESMO Handbook of Advanced Cancer Care. London and New York, 2006