Lothar Heinz Wieler (born 8 February 1961) is a German veterinarian and microbiologist who served as president of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) from 2015 to 2023.[1] In this capacity, he advised the German Federal and State Governments on topics of public health, especially infection hazards, and on the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

Lothar H. Wieler
Born
Lothar Heinz Wieler

(1961-02-08) 8 February 1961 (age 63)
NationalityGerman
Scientific career
Fields
Websitewww.rki.de/SharedDocs/Lebenslauf/Wieler_Lothar_H.html

Early life and education edit

Wieler was born in Königswinter, Germany. He studied veterinary medicine at Free University of Berlin and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich from 1980 to 1985.[3]

Career edit

From 1998 until 2015, Wieler worked as professor and director of the Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics at the Free University of Berlin. During that time, he spent a sabbatical at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Hinxton under the supervision of Gordon Dougan.[3]

Early in the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, Wieler launched Europe’s first large-scale SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing in an effort to help researchers assess infection rates and monitor the spread of the virus more effectively; the study was carried out jointly by the Robert Koch Institute, Charité and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research.[4]

In addition to his role at RKI, Wieler was a member of the World Health Organization's Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Infectious Hazards (STAG-IH) since 2018.[5] In 2020, he chaired the WHO's Committee for the Review of the International Health Regulations.[6] Also in 2020, he was appointed to the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance, co-chaired by Sheikh Hasina and Mia Mottley.[7]

Since 2023, Wieler has been working at the Hasso Plattner Institute.[8]

Other activities edit

Awards edit

References edit

  1. ^ "RKI – President – Prof. Dr. Lothar H. Wieler". www.rki.de.
  2. ^ "RKI – Mission Statement". www.rki.de.
  3. ^ a b CV of Lothar Wieler Robert Koch Institute.
  4. ^ Guy Chazan and Donato Paolo Mancini (9 April 2020), Germany to run Europe’s first large-scale antibody test programme Financial Times.
  5. ^ Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Infectious Hazards (STAG-IH) World Health Organization.
  6. ^ Sheri Fink (12 May 2021), Experts Call for Sweeping Reforms to Prevent the Next Pandemic New York Times.
  7. ^ Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance World Health Organization.
  8. ^ Sandra Calvez (15 June 2023), Prävention durch Digitalisierung: Was Lothar Wieler am HPI in Potsdam erreichen will Der Tagesspiegel.
  9. ^ Council Virchow Prize for Global Health.
  10. ^ European Advisory Committee on Health Research (EACHR) World Health Organization (WHO).
  11. ^ Board of Trustees Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications.
  12. ^ Scientific Advisory Council Robert Koch Foundation.
  13. ^ "Lothar Wieler mit Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse geehrt". Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina (in German). 14 January 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  14. ^ "Verleihung des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland an Klaus Cichutek und Lothar Wieler". Der Bundespräsident (in German). Retrieved 18 January 2024.

External links edit