OBITUARY
In Memoriam: Uwe-Karsten Hanisch (May 6, 1961 to April 18, 2015)
U
we-Karsten Hanisch died unexpectedly on April 18, 2015 at the age of 53. His sudden death was a shock for his family and friends and for the entire community of glial scientists around the world. Uwe was born on May 6, 1961 in L€ utzen, close to Leipzig. He grew up in the Eastern part of Germany during the time of the “cold war” and early on seemed to know his destiny. In school his mind was continuously attracted to explore the unknown inside and outside system borders. It was also in Leipzig where he studied biochemistry (diploma in 1986) and did his PhD at the Paul-Flechsig-Institute for Brain Research supervised by Dietmar Biesold. He worked on somatosensory reorganization after sciatic nerve injury and finished in 1990. As postdoc (1991 to 1993) he went to Douglas Hospital Research Centre, McGill University, Montreal to Rene Quirion where he started to focus on cytokine action in the central nervous system. In particular, he studied the role of interleukin-2 as a neuroregulatory cytokine. His experience in this vibrant field of the brain’s immune system taught him to expect the unexpected. During that period he published his first paper together with his later wife, Denise van Rossum. In 1993, he returned to Germany to the Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin, where the three of us came together and collaborated, focusing on cytokine activity and microglial cells. This early collaboration resulted in four common publications. In 1999, he habilitated in Biochemistry/Neurobiology at the University of Leipzig. He stayed as a member of the research team of HK in Berlin until 2002 and as guest scientist and project leader in Molecular Medicine until 2004. After a short intermezzo as Professor for Biochemistry at the University of Applied Sciences Lausitz in Senftenberg from 2002–2004, Uwe went to G€ottingen in 2004 to join the Department of Neuropathology headed by Wolfgang Br€ uck where he became a Full Professor for Experimental Neurobiology. He con-
tinued his successful research on the role of microglial cells in different pathologies with strong focus on cytokines. In addition, he was honored with a Guest Professorship for Medical Physiology at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. Early in 2015, he returned to his scientific birthplace accepting a Professorship for Dynamics of Brain Function at the Paul-Flechsig-Institute for Brain Research at the University of Leipzig. Extreme curiosity, humanity, and great inventiveness were the sources of Uwe’s genius as a neuroscientist. Throughout his life, he was a fervent reader of the world‘s literature on history, arts, and culture. He strongly believed in a life of learning and in accurate documentation and reflection. Examples of his acuity were his lively talks and scientific discussions with his coworkers that were demanding but always instructive. Uwe’s research was extremely well received in the worldwide glial community. His highly respectable H factor of 38 attests to this (Google scholar). His review with HK on “Microglia: active sensor and versatile effector cells in the normal and pathologic brain” has been cited more than 1,500 times since 2007. His review on “Microglia as a source and target of cytokines” which he published by himself in GLIA in 2002 has been cited close to 1,000 times and is the 4th most highly cited paper ever published in GLIA, and the highest in this millennium. Uwe was a very active member of the Editorial Board of GLIA, served as a highly competent and critical reviewer and rarely declined our invitations to review. Moreover, he was— together with Shinichi Kohsaka and Thomas M€oller—Guest Editor of a Special Issue on Microglia in 2002 (Volume 40, Issue 2). He contributed many original papers to GLIA, since 2000 publishing a total of 15 papers in the journal. The three of us were regular collaborators over the years, producing 25 common papers with HK and 15 with MP. In fact,
View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI: 10.1002/glia.22864 Published online May 25, 2015 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). Received May 6, 2015, Accepted for publication May 6, 2015. Address correspondence to Helmut Kettenmann, Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Robert Roessle Str 10, 13092 Berlin, Germany. E-mail: [email protected]
C 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 1285 V
2013, Glia Meeting Berlin, from left to right: Thomas M€ oller, Trevor Owens, Uwe-Karsten Hanisch, Israel Sekler, Christiane Nolte.
€user, Uwe2013, Glia Meeting Berlin, GLIA Editorial Board meeting, from left to right: Frank Kirchhoff, Phil Haydon, Christian Steinha Karsten Hanisch, Frank Pfrieger, Jacqueline Trotter, Rebecca Matsas, Susan Barnett, Iain Campbell, Andreas Faissner, Erik Boddeke, Anne Baron-van Evercooren, Klaus-Armin Nave, Trevor Owens, Helmut Kettenmann, Andreas Reichenbach, Ingo Bechmann, Matt Giampoala, Josef Priller, Knut Biber, Mami Noda, Thomas M€ oller, Dwight Bergles, Gwenn Garden, Wendy Macklin, Luisa Minghetti.
2014, in his G€ ottingen office.
2010, DFG Retreat castle Reinach, with his wife Denise van Rossum.
Obituary
2013, DFG Retreat Potsdam.
2010 Jersualem, with Hannelore Ehrenreich and others.
2007, Berlin Brain Days, from left to right: Stefanie Seifert, Mami Noda, Serge Rivest, Oliver Kann, Uwe-Karsten Hanisch.
the most recent collaborative effort just appeared in GLIA’s June issue with all three of us and his wife Denise van Rossum as authors (Menzfeld C, . . . van Rossum D. . . Kettenmann H . . .Prinz M. . . and Uwe-Karsten Hanisch (2015 Tyrphostin AG126 exerts neuroprotection in CNS inflammation by a dual mechanism GLIA 63:6, 1083–1099). Uwe will be remembered for both his scientific contributions and his overwhelming presence. We will recall him as an enthusiastic experimentalist, spilling ideas nonstop for hours, a gifted, often brilliant, lecturer, and as a consummate story-teller.
August 2015
Uwe’s passing leaves a gap in our lives and in the glial community that will never be filled. We will keep him alive in our hearts and memories. Helmut Kettenmann1 and Marco Prinz2 Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Robert Roessle Str 10, 13092 Berlin, Germany. Email: kettenmann @mdc-berlin.de 2 University of Freiburg, Department of Neuropathology, Breisacherstr. 64, 79106 Freiburg, Germany. Email: marco. [email protected] 1
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In Memoriam: Uwe-Karsten Hanisch (May 6, 1961 to April 18, 2015)
U
we-Karsten Hanisch died unexpectedly on April 18, 2015 at the age of 53. His sudden death was a shock for his family and friends and for the entire community of glial scientists around the world. Uwe was born on May 6, 1961 in L€ utzen, close to Leipzig. He grew up in the Eastern part of Germany during the time of the “cold war” and early on seemed to know his destiny. In school his mind was continuously attracted to explore the unknown inside and outside system borders. It was also in Leipzig where he studied biochemistry (diploma in 1986) and did his PhD at the Paul-Flechsig-Institute for Brain Research supervised by Dietmar Biesold. He worked on somatosensory reorganization after sciatic nerve injury and finished in 1990. As postdoc (1991 to 1993) he went to Douglas Hospital Research Centre, McGill University, Montreal to Rene Quirion where he started to focus on cytokine action in the central nervous system. In particular, he studied the role of interleukin-2 as a neuroregulatory cytokine. His experience in this vibrant field of the brain’s immune system taught him to expect the unexpected. During that period he published his first paper together with his later wife, Denise van Rossum. In 1993, he returned to Germany to the Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association, Berlin, where the three of us came together and collaborated, focusing on cytokine activity and microglial cells. This early collaboration resulted in four common publications. In 1999, he habilitated in Biochemistry/Neurobiology at the University of Leipzig. He stayed as a member of the research team of HK in Berlin until 2002 and as guest scientist and project leader in Molecular Medicine until 2004. After a short intermezzo as Professor for Biochemistry at the University of Applied Sciences Lausitz in Senftenberg from 2002–2004, Uwe went to G€ottingen in 2004 to join the Department of Neuropathology headed by Wolfgang Br€ uck where he became a Full Professor for Experimental Neurobiology. He con-
tinued his successful research on the role of microglial cells in different pathologies with strong focus on cytokines. In addition, he was honored with a Guest Professorship for Medical Physiology at the University of Groningen, The Netherlands. Early in 2015, he returned to his scientific birthplace accepting a Professorship for Dynamics of Brain Function at the Paul-Flechsig-Institute for Brain Research at the University of Leipzig. Extreme curiosity, humanity, and great inventiveness were the sources of Uwe’s genius as a neuroscientist. Throughout his life, he was a fervent reader of the world‘s literature on history, arts, and culture. He strongly believed in a life of learning and in accurate documentation and reflection. Examples of his acuity were his lively talks and scientific discussions with his coworkers that were demanding but always instructive. Uwe’s research was extremely well received in the worldwide glial community. His highly respectable H factor of 38 attests to this (Google scholar). His review with HK on “Microglia: active sensor and versatile effector cells in the normal and pathologic brain” has been cited more than 1,500 times since 2007. His review on “Microglia as a source and target of cytokines” which he published by himself in GLIA in 2002 has been cited close to 1,000 times and is the 4th most highly cited paper ever published in GLIA, and the highest in this millennium. Uwe was a very active member of the Editorial Board of GLIA, served as a highly competent and critical reviewer and rarely declined our invitations to review. Moreover, he was— together with Shinichi Kohsaka and Thomas M€oller—Guest Editor of a Special Issue on Microglia in 2002 (Volume 40, Issue 2). He contributed many original papers to GLIA, since 2000 publishing a total of 15 papers in the journal. The three of us were regular collaborators over the years, producing 25 common papers with HK and 15 with MP. In fact,
View this article online at wileyonlinelibrary.com. DOI: 10.1002/glia.22864 Published online May 25, 2015 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). Received May 6, 2015, Accepted for publication May 6, 2015. Address correspondence to Helmut Kettenmann, Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Robert Roessle Str 10, 13092 Berlin, Germany. E-mail: [email protected]
C 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 1285 V
2013, Glia Meeting Berlin, from left to right: Thomas M€ oller, Trevor Owens, Uwe-Karsten Hanisch, Israel Sekler, Christiane Nolte.
€user, Uwe2013, Glia Meeting Berlin, GLIA Editorial Board meeting, from left to right: Frank Kirchhoff, Phil Haydon, Christian Steinha Karsten Hanisch, Frank Pfrieger, Jacqueline Trotter, Rebecca Matsas, Susan Barnett, Iain Campbell, Andreas Faissner, Erik Boddeke, Anne Baron-van Evercooren, Klaus-Armin Nave, Trevor Owens, Helmut Kettenmann, Andreas Reichenbach, Ingo Bechmann, Matt Giampoala, Josef Priller, Knut Biber, Mami Noda, Thomas M€ oller, Dwight Bergles, Gwenn Garden, Wendy Macklin, Luisa Minghetti.
2014, in his G€ ottingen office.
2010, DFG Retreat castle Reinach, with his wife Denise van Rossum.
Obituary
2013, DFG Retreat Potsdam.
2010 Jersualem, with Hannelore Ehrenreich and others.
2007, Berlin Brain Days, from left to right: Stefanie Seifert, Mami Noda, Serge Rivest, Oliver Kann, Uwe-Karsten Hanisch.
the most recent collaborative effort just appeared in GLIA’s June issue with all three of us and his wife Denise van Rossum as authors (Menzfeld C, . . . van Rossum D. . . Kettenmann H . . .Prinz M. . . and Uwe-Karsten Hanisch (2015 Tyrphostin AG126 exerts neuroprotection in CNS inflammation by a dual mechanism GLIA 63:6, 1083–1099). Uwe will be remembered for both his scientific contributions and his overwhelming presence. We will recall him as an enthusiastic experimentalist, spilling ideas nonstop for hours, a gifted, often brilliant, lecturer, and as a consummate story-teller.
August 2015
Uwe’s passing leaves a gap in our lives and in the glial community that will never be filled. We will keep him alive in our hearts and memories. Helmut Kettenmann1 and Marco Prinz2 Max Delbrueck Center for Molecular Medicine, Robert Roessle Str 10, 13092 Berlin, Germany. Email: kettenmann @mdc-berlin.de 2 University of Freiburg, Department of Neuropathology, Breisacherstr. 64, 79106 Freiburg, Germany. Email: marco. [email protected] 1
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