The cancer researcher and Nobel Prize winner in medicine Harald zur Hausen has died. He died on Sunday at the age of 87, as the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg announced on Monday evening. "With him, we have lost an outstanding scientist who has made groundbreaking achievements in the field of tumor virology," said Michael Baumann, Chairman of the Executive Board and Scientific Director of the DKFZ. Zur Hausen headed the renowned research institution for 20 years.
The internationally renowned virologist was considered the spiritual father of a widely used vaccine against cervical cancer and other tumors, which earned him the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2008. "It is no exaggeration to say that Harald zur Hausen has opened up a whole new dimension in cancer prevention," said Baumann. Most recently, the scientist had researched a possible connection between milk and beef consumption and the development of breast and colon cancer.
Prerequisite for HPV vaccination created
Zur Hausen was born on 11 March 1936 in Gelsenkirchen. He studied medicine in Bonn, Hamburg and Düsseldorf. In the early 1980s, he proved that certain sexually transmitted skin wart viruses – so-called human papillomaviruses (HPV) – can cause cervical cancer. In doing so, he created the conditions for the development of a vaccine that has been approved on the European market since 2006. Initially, there was a great deal of skepticism among colleagues, as zur Hausen once recounted.
In 1983, zur Hausen was appointed head of the DKFZ. Even after being awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2008, his primary interest was the role of viral infections in the development of cancer. Until old age, he came to the DKFZ and researched pathogens that could be associated with the development of breast and colon cancer.
In the course of his life as a researcher, zur Hausen was honored with an impressive number of academic awards. He was the recipient of almost 40 honorary doctorates and numerous honorary professorships. The culmination of his scientific career came in 2008 when he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine. In 2009, zur Hausen was awarded the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany with Star of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. In 2017, the city of Heidelberg made him an honorary citizen.