Erhard Geißler (born 17 December 1930 in

Leipzig Leipzig (, ; ; Upper Saxon: ; ) is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Saxony. The city has a population of 628,718 inhabitants as of 2023. It is the List of cities in Germany by population, eighth-largest city in Ge ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

) is a German

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

and

geneticist A geneticist is a biologist or physician who studies genetics, the science of genes, heredity, and variation of organisms. A geneticist can be employed as a scientist or a lecturer. Geneticists may perform general research on genetic process ...

Biography

Geißler achieved his ''Abitur'' in 1950 and then began studying biology at

Leipzig University Leipzig University (), in Leipzig in Saxony, Germany, is one of the world's oldest universities and the second-oldest university (by consecutive years of existence) in Germany. The university was founded on 2 December 1409 by Frederick I, Electo ...

, becoming an intern for the Institute for Medicine and Biology at the Berlin-Buch campus in 1953. He was a professor for

genetics Genetics is the study of genes, genetic variation, and heredity in organisms.Hartl D, Jones E (2005) It is an important branch in biology because heredity is vital to organisms' evolution. Gregor Mendel, a Moravian Augustinians, Augustinian ...

at the

University of Rostock The University of Rostock () is a public university located in Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. Founded in 1419, it is the third-oldest university in Germany. It is the oldest university in continental northern Europe and the Baltic Se ...

, reaching full professor rank in 1965. Between 1965 and 1971 he was dean of the university. Subsequently, he was head of the

bioethics Bioethics is both a field of study and professional practice, interested in ethical issues related to health (primarily focused on the human, but also increasingly includes animal ethics), including those emerging from advances in biology, me ...

research group at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine, from 1992 until his retirement in 2000. The

Stockholm International Peace Research Institute Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) is an international institute based in Stockholm, Sweden. It was founded in 1966 and provides data, analysis and recommendations for armed conflict, military expenditure and arms trade a ...

hired him in 1983 as a

biological weapons Biological agents, also known as biological weapons or bioweapons, are pathogens used as weapons. In addition to these living or replicating pathogens, toxins and biotoxins are also included among the bio-agents. More than 1,200 different kin ...

consultant. Early in his career, he was a freelancer for ''

Leipziger Volkszeitung The ''Leipziger Volkszeitung'' or ''LVZ'' (German language, German for ''Leipzig People's Newspaper'') is a daily regional newspaper in Leipzig and western Saxony, Germany. First published on 1 October 1894, the LVZ was formerly an important pu ...

''. His daughter is now a journalist.

Selected publications

* ''Biological and Toxin Weapons Today.'' Oxford 1986 * ''Strengthening the Biological Weapons Convention by Confidence-Building Measures.'' Oxford 1990 * ''Prevention of a Biological and Toxin Arms Race and the Responsibility of Scientists.'' Berlin 1991 (Co-author) * ''Control of Dual-Threat Agents: The Vaccines for Peace Programme.'' Oxford 1994 * ''Hitler und die Biowaffen.'' Münster 1998 * ''Krieg mit Pest und Milzbrand: Die Geschichte der biologischen Waffen und das Versagen der Geheimdienste.'' Berlin 2002

References

External links

*
Prof. Erhard Geißler wird 75
Pressemitteilung des MDC
Geißler, Erhard (Bundesstiftung zur Aufarbeitung der SED-Diktatur)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Geissler, Erhard German geneticists Academic staff of the University of Rostock 1930 births Living people Leipzig University alumni