Christoph Klein (born 18 August 1964 in Kirchen (Sieg)) is a German Pediatric Hematologist/Oncologist and Director at the Dr. von Hauner Children’s Hospital,

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: link=no, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. Originally established as the University of ...

, Germany.

Career

Christoph Klein completed clinical and scientific training at the Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital Munich, Hôpital Necker Enfants Malades, Paris, University Children's Hospital Freiburg, and Boston Children's Hospital. He was Chair of the Department of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at Hannover Medical School before being appointed Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at LMU in 2011. Klein and his laboratory investigate clinical, genetic and cell biological aspects of

rare disease A rare disease is any disease that affects a small percentage of the population. In some parts of the world, an orphan disease is a rare disease whose rarity means there is a lack of a market large enough to gain support and resources for discov ...

s of the blood and immune system. By studying rare human diseases, his team is interested in elucidating basic mechanisms orchestrating the development and function of hematopoietic and immune cells. Furthermore, the team strives toward the development of novel cell- and gene-based therapeutic strategies. He discovered numerous diseases and conducted the first clinical gene therapy study for patients with Wiskott Aldrich syndrome. Klein co-founded the international Care-for-Rare Foundation for children with rare diseases. Care-for-Rare is a non-profit organization following the Leitmotiv "From Discovery to Cure". No child should be destined to suffer or die just because his or her disease is very rare, regardless of ethnic origin and the financial opportunities of his or her family.

Honors and awards

The American Society of Hematology honored Klein with a scholar award (1998) and the William-Dameshek Prize (2011). Klein is also recipient of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize awarded by the German Research Society (2010), the Adalbert Czerny Prize awarded by the German Society for Pediatrics (2007), the Eva Luise Köhler Prize for Rare Diseases (2011), and the Khwarizmi International Award by the Islamic Republic Iran (2016). The American Society of Clinical Investigation (2014) and the Hector Fellow Academy (2013) elected Klein as member. He is also recipient of the Cusanus-Award for his philanthropic and social activities (2015).

References

External links

Dr. von Hauner Children's Hospital, LMU (German)

Care-for-Rare Foundation for children with rare diseases

Christoph Klein Lab (LMU Munich)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Klein, Christoph 1964 births Living people German pediatricians Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich faculty