Harald zur Hausen NAS

EASA The European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) is an agency of the European Union (EU) with responsibility for civil aviation safety. It carries out certification, regulation and standardisation and also performs investigation and monitori ...

APS (; born 11 March 1936) is a German

virologist Virology is the scientific study of biological viruses. It is a subfield of microbiology that focuses on their detection, structure, classification and evolution, their methods of infection and exploitation of host cells for reproduction, thei ...

and

professor emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

. He has done 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 The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, accord ...

2008.

Early life and education

Zur Hausen was born in Gelsenkirchen, Germany, in a Catholic family. He completed his Abitur at Gymnasium Antonianum in

Vechta Vechta (; Northern Low Saxon: ''Vechte'') is the capital and largest city of the Vechta district in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is home to the University of Vechta. It is known for the 'Stoppelmarkt' fair, which takes place every summer and has a h ...

, then studied medicine at the Universities of

Bonn The federal city of Bonn ( lat, Bonna) is a city on the banks of the Rhine in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, with a population of over 300,000. About south-southeast of Cologne, Bonn is in the southernmost part of the Rhine-Ru ...

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

and

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian language, Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second- ...

, and received a

Doctor of Medicine Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated M.D., from the Latin ''Medicinae Doctor'') is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the M.D. denotes a professional degree. T ...

degree in 1960 from the

University of Düsseldorf A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

, after which he became a medical assistant.

Career

Two years after qualifying as a medical doctor, he joined the Institute for Microbiology at the University of Düsseldorf as a laboratory assistant. After three and a half years there, he moved to

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

to work at the Virus Laboratories of

Children's Hospital of Philadelphia The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) is a children's hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with its primary campus located in the University City neighborhood of West Philadelphia in the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. The ...

together with eminent virologists Werner and Gertrude Henle, 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 The Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), formally called ''Human gammaherpesvirus 4'', is one of the nine known human herpesvirus types in the herpes family, and is one of the most common viruses in humans. EBV is a double-stranded DNA virus. It is b ...

) can turn healthy cells (lymphocytes) into cancer cells. He became an assistant professor at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

. In 1969, he returned to Germany to become a regular teaching and researching professor at the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one of ...

's Institute for Virology. In 1972, he moved to the

University of Erlangen–Nuremberg University of Erlangen–Nuremberg (german: Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, FAU) is a public research university in the cities of Erlangen and Nuremberg in Bavaria, Germany. The name Friedrich–Alexander comes from the univ ...

. In 1977, he moved on to the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public research university located in Freiburg im Breisgau, Baden-Württemb ...

(Breisgau), where he headed the Department of Virology and Hygiene. Working with Lutz Gissmann, zur Hausen first isolated human papillomavirus 6 by simple centrifugation from

genital wart Genital warts are a sexually transmitted infection caused by certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV). They are generally pink in color and project out from the surface of the skin. Usually they cause few symptoms, but can occasionally be pai ...

s. Together with Ethel-Michele de Villiers, whom he married after his divorce from his first wife, he isolated HPV 6 DNA from genital warts, suggesting a possible new way of identifying viruses in human tumors. This discovery paid off several years later, in 1983, when zur Hausen identified HPV 16 DNA in cervical cancer tumors by means of Southern blot hybridization. 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, with other scientists favoring herpes simplex as a cause for cervical cancer. From 1983 until 2003, zur Hausen served as chairman and scientific advisory board member of the

German Cancer Research Center The German Cancer Research Center (known as the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum or simply DKFZ in German) is a national cancer research center based in Heidelberg, Germany. It is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres ...

(

Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum The German Cancer Research Center (known as the Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum or simply DKFZ in German) is a national cancer research center based in Heidelberg, Germany. It is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres, ...

, DKFZ in German) in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

and as professor of medicine at

Heidelberg University } Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg, (german: Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; la, Universitas Ruperto Carola Heidelbergensis) is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, B ...

. From 2007 to 2011, zur Hausen was a member of the scientific advisory board of Zukunftskolleg at the

University of Konstanz The University of Konstanz (german: Universität Konstanz) is a university in the city of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Its main campus was opened on the Gießberg in 1972 after being founded in 1966. The university is Germany's ...

. He was editor-in-chief of the ''

International Journal of Cancer The ''International Journal of Cancer'' is a biweekly peer-reviewed medical journal covering experimental and clinical cancer research. It publishes original research articles, mini reviews, short reports, and letters to the editor. The journal w ...

'' until the end of 2010. On 1 January 2010, zur Hausen became the president of

German Cancer Aid The German Cancer Aid (german: links=yes, Deutsche Krebshilfe) is a not-for-profit organization to fight cancer in all its forms. The institution was founded on September 25, 1974 by Dr. Mildred Scheel (1932–1985). She was the wife of Walter ...

, the largest cancer charity in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. Zur Hausen has three sons from his first marriage. In 1993, he married his second wife, Professor Ethel-Michele de Villiers, who at the time was a fellow researcher at the

. He currently lives with his wife in Wald-Michelbach, Hesse.

Scientific merits

Zur Hausen's field of research is the study of oncoviruses. In 1976, he hypothesized that

human papillomavirus Human papillomavirus infection (HPV infection) is caused by a DNA virus from the ''Papillomaviridae'' family. Many HPV infections cause no symptoms and 90% resolve spontaneously within two years. In some cases, an HPV infection persists and res ...

plays an important role in causing cervical cancer. Together with his collaborators, he then identified HPV16 and HPV18 in cervical cancers in 1983–84. This research made possible the development of the HPV vaccine, the first formulation of which was commercialized in 2006. He is also credited with discovery of the virus causing

genital warts Genital warts are a sexually transmitted infection caused by certain types of human papillomavirus (HPV). They are generally pink in color and project out from the surface of the skin. Usually they cause few symptoms, but can occasionally be pai ...

(HPV 6) and a monkey lymphotropic polyomavirus that is a close relative to a recently discovered human Merkel cell polyomavirus, as well as of techniques to immortalize cells with Epstein-Barr virus and to induce replication of the virus using phorbol esters. His work on papillomaviruses and cervical cancer received a great deal of scientific criticism when first published but subsequently was confirmed and was used as the basis for research on other high-risk papillomaviruses.

Books

* *

Prizes and Awards

Zur Hausen received the

Gairdner Foundation International Award The Canada Gairdner International Award is given annually by the Gairdner Foundation at a special dinner to five individuals for outstanding discoveries or contributions to medical science. Receipt of the Gairdner is traditionally considered a ...

in 2008 for his contributions to medical science.

Nobel Prize

Zur Hausen shared the 2008

Nobel Prize in Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded yearly by the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute for outstanding discoveries in physiology or medicine. The Nobel Prize is not a single prize, but five separate prizes that, according ...

with Luc Montagnier and

Françoise Barré-Sinoussi (; born 30 July 1947) is a French virologist and Director of the Regulation of Retroviral Infections Division (french: Unité de Régulation des Infections Rétrovirales) and Professor at the in Paris, France. Born in Paris, France, Barré-Sino ...

, the discoverers of the

human immunodeficiency virus The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of ''Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the immun ...

(HIV). 2008 Nobel Prize winner "for his discovery of human papilloma viruses causing cervical cancer" 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 AstraZeneca plc () is a British-Swedish multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology company with its headquarters at the Cambridge Biomedical Campus in Cambridge, England. It has a portfolio of products for major diseases in areas includi ...

, a company that earns

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A ...

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. However, colleagues widely felt that the award was deserved, and the secretary of the Nobel Committee and Assembly issued a statement affirming that Bo Angelin was unaware AstraZeneca's HPV vaccine patents at the time of the vote.

Awards and distinctions

Robert Koch Prize The Robert Koch Medal and Award are two prizes awarded annually by the German for excellence in the biomedical sciences. These awards grew out of early attempts by German physician Robert Koch to generate funding to support his research into the ...

(1975) * Lila and Murray Gruber Memorial Cancer Research Award from the American Academy of Dermatology (1985) * Charles S. Mott Prize (1986) * Beijerinck Virology Prize (1992) *

Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize The Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize is an annual award bestowed by the since 1952 for investigations in medicine. It carries a prize money of 120,000 Euro. The prize awarding ceremony is traditionally held on March 14, the birthday of N ...

(1994) * International member of the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS), founded in 1743 in Philadelphia, is a scholarly organization that promotes knowledge in the sciences and humanities through research, professional meetings, publications, library resources, and communit ...

(1998) * Virchow Medal from the

(2000) * San Marino Prize for Medicine (2002) * Great Cross of Merit (2004) *

Award (2006) * Raymond Bourgine Award (2006) *

William B. Coley Award The William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic and Tumor Immunology is presented annually by the Cancer Research Institute, to scientists who have made outstanding achievements in the fields of basic and tumor immunology and whose w ...

for Distinguished Research in Basic and Tumor Immunology (with

Ian Frazer Ian Hector Frazer (born 6 January 1953) is a Scottish-born Australian immunologist, the founding CEO and Director of Research of the Translational Research Institute (Australia). Frazer and Jian Zhou developed and patented the basic technolo ...

) (2006) * Loeffler-Frosch Medal (2007) * Johann-Georg-Zimmermann Medal (2007) *

Warren Alpert Foundation Prize The Warren Alpert Foundation Prize is awarded annually to scientist(s) whose scientific achievements have led to the prevention, cure or treatment of human diseases or disorders, and/or whose research constitutes a seminal scientific finding that ho ...

(2007) * AACR Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research (2008) *

(2008) *

(2008) * Tsungming-Tu Prize (2011) * Ernst Wertheim Prize (2012) * Genome Valley Excellence Award from BioAsia 2014 (2014) * Science of Oncology Award from the American Society of Clinical Oncology (2014) * Mike Price Gold Medal Award from The European Association for Cancer Research (2014)

Memberships

* Member of the

Academia Europaea The Academia Europaea is a pan-European Academy of Humanities, Letters, Law, and Sciences. The Academia was founded in 1988 as a functioning Europe-wide Academy that encompasses all fields of scholarly inquiry. It acts as co-ordinator of Europea ...

(1990) * Member of the

(1998) * Honorary Member

European Academy of Sciences and Arts The European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA, la, Academia Scientiarum et Artium Europaea) is a transnational and interdisciplinary network, connecting about 2,000 recommended scientists and artists worldwide, including 37 Nobel Prize laur ...

(2008) * International member of the National Academy of Sciences (2009) * Foreign Member Finnish Society for Science (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 The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts ( sl, Slovenska akademija znanosti in umetnosti (SAZU)) is the national academy of Slovenia, which encompasses science and the arts and brings together the top Slovene researchers and artists as members ...

(June 2015) * Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (2017) * Honorary degrees from the universities of Chicago, Umeå, Prague, Salford, Helsinki, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Ferrara, Guadalajara and Sal

References

External links

Zur Hausen Nobel Prize lecture

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hausen, Harald Zur 1936 births Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization Living people People from Gelsenkirchen Cancer researchers German virologists German medical researchers German Nobel laureates People from the Province of Westphalia Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine Papillomavirus University of Bonn alumni University of Hamburg alumni Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf alumni Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Recipients of the Order of Merit of Baden-Württemberg University of Pennsylvania faculty University of Würzburg faculty University of Erlangen-Nuremberg faculty University of Freiburg faculty Heidelberg University faculty Members of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts Infectious causes of cancer Members of the German Academy of Sciences at Berlin Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences Members of the American Philosophical Society Members of the National Academy of Medicine