Harald zur Hausen was a Nobel Prize-winning German virologist who discovered the link between HPV and cervical cancer, and whose work led to the development of a vaccine against cancer-causing human papilloma viruses.
- Died: May 29, 2023 (Who else died on May 29?)
- Details of death: Died in Germany at the age of 87.
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Harald zur Hausen’s legacy
Zur Hausen’s rise to prominence in virology began in 1962. He worked as a lab assistant at the University of Düsseldorf, before moving to the United States to work at the Virus Laboratories of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. His first breakthrough came just a few years later in 1967, when he was part of the first study that proved virus cells could turn into cancer cells.
Hausen left the U.S. not long after, eventually heading the Department of Virology and Hygiene at the University of Freiburg. There, he began studying human papilloma virus (HPV) 6 genital warts. By 1983, he had discovered HPV DNA in cervical tumors. His discoveries initially caused fierce debate among the scientific community, but they eventually became foundational to the development of a vaccine that will protect countless women from cancer.
He served as chairman of the German Cancer Research Center for 20 years, was vice president of German Cancer Aid, the largest cancer charity in Europe, and was a professor of medicine at Heidelberg University. In 2008, he was awarded a Nobel Prize alongside Luc Montagnier and Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, pioneers in HIV research, for his work. Over his lifetime, he was also granted almost 40 honorary doctorates, and in 2009 received the Grand Cross of Merit with Star of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany.
Tributes to Harald zur Hausen
Full obituary: The Washington Post
