Internationally renowned leukemia-lymphoma researcher and head of the Department for Human and Animal Cell Cultures, Prof. Hans Günther Drexler MD of the Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures, will enter retirement on 31st December 2019. The hematologist took over the reins of the DSMZ-Department on 1st May 1989, when it was newly founded, and went on to build it up as one of the world’s leading collection and research departments.
Prof. Hans G. Drexler, MD: in leukemia-lymphoma-research since 1979
Since starting his doctoral thesis in December 1979 in Ulm, Southern Germany, his continuous and primary focus has been on leukemia-lymphoma-research. Prof. Drexler describes himself as “a physician in science”. In 2001, he qualified as Professor at the Technical University Braunschweig in Northern Germany, the same institution that appointed him Adjunct Professor in 2005. For the last 26 years, the researcher has regularly held lectures on the topic of “biology and blood cell diseases”. Drexler attended medical school at the University of Ulm, and graduated “summa cum laude” in 1982. His scientific career took him to the Loyola University in Chicago, USA, and the Department of Hematology at the Royal Free Hospital School of Medicine of the University of London, Great Britain, for a total of six years.
530 publications and 620 marathons: Prof. Hans G. Drexler, MD
Professor Drexler’s publication list includes 530 published articles, mainly in international journals and textbooks. Amongst others, his work was published in renowned journals such as “Nature Genetics”, “Blood” or “Leukemia.” His textbooks on leukemia-lymphoma cell lines are standard references on this topic all across the globe. Apart from his scientific activities, Hans G. Drexler is also a dedicated sportsman. In the past 20 years, he has run more than 75,000 kilometers in 620 marathons and ultra-marathons – in 86 of these he successfully completed distances of 100 kilometers and 100 miles. The academic has announced his intention to keep staying active in the future as well, planning to hold lectures in Braunschweig, Italy and Spain and to continue to contribute scientific papers in his area of expertise. His running shoes will continued to be a fixture in his travel bag.
Press contact:
Sven-David Müller, Head of Public Relations, Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures GmbH
Phone: ++49 (0)531/2616-300
Mail: Sven.David.Mueller(at)dsmz.de
About the Leibniz Institute DSMZ
The Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures is the world's most diverse collection of biological resources (bacteria, archaea, protists, yeasts, fun-gi, bacteriophages, plant viruses, genomic bacterial DNA as well as human and animal cell lines). Microorganisms and cell cultures are collected, investigated and archived at the DSMZ. As an institution of the Leibniz Association, the DSMZ with its extensive scientific services and biological resources has been a global partner for research, science and industry since 1969. The DSMZ is the first registered collection in Europe (Regulation (EU) No. 511/2014) and certified according to the quality standard ISO 9001:2015. As a patent depository, it offers the only possibility in Germany to deposit biological material in accordance with the requirements of the Budapest Treaty. In addition to scientific services, research is the second pillar of the DSMZ. The institute, located on the Science Campus Braunschweig-Süd, accommodates more than 72,500 cultures and biomaterials and has 198 employees. www.dsmz.de
The Leibniz Association
The Leibniz Association connects 95 independent research institutions that range in focus from the natural, engineering and environmental sciences via economics, spatial and social sciences to the humanities. Leibniz Institutes address issues of social, economic and ecological relevance. They conduct knowledge-driven and applied basic research, maintain scientific infrastructure and provide research-based services. The Leibniz Association identifies focus areas for knowledge transfer to policy-makers, academia, business and the public. Leibniz institutions collaborate intensively with universities – in the form of “Leibniz ScienceCampi” (thematic partnerships between university and non-university research institutes), for example – as well as with industry and other partners at home and abroad. They are subject to an independent evaluation procedure that is unparalleled in its transparency. Due to the importance of the institutions for the country as a whole, they are funded jointly by the Federation and the Länder, employing some 19,100 individuals, including 9,900 researchers. The entire budget of all the institutes is approximately 1.9 billion Euros. www.leibniz-gemeinschaft.de