Konrad Beyreuther Appointed Senior Professor of the Universität Heidelberg

Prof. Dr. Konrad Beyreuther, internationally acknowledged for his work on Alzheimer’s disease and the key gene involved in its generation, has been appointed Senior Professor by the Rector of Heidelberg University, Prof. Dr. Bernhard Eitel. The university awards this honorary title to retired professors who are not only renowned as excellent researchers and academic teachers but have also displayed outstanding commitment to the concerns of the university as a whole. Prof. Beyreuther came to Heidelberg University in 1987 and since 2006 has been the director of the Network Aging Research (NAR), which was established under his leadership.

Konrad Beyreuther (b. 1941) studied chemistry in Munich, where he also received his doctorate in 1968. Before he accepted the offer of a professorship at Heidelberg University’s Centre for Molecular Biology in 1987 he had conducted research at Cologne, Harvard and Cambridge. A co-discoverer of the BSE agent, Prof. Beyreuther was appointed honorary State Counsellor to the government of the state of Baden-Württemberg for the protection of life and health by the then Minister-President Erwin Teufel in 2001. He was active in this capacity until 2006.

As founding director of the NAR, Prof. Beyreuther has been a prime mover in linking research on aging undertaken both by the humanities and the natural sciences. This specific feature makes the NAR network unique in Germany so far. The network collates the research activities of Heidelberg University, Mannheim University and the non-university research institutions in the Rhine-Neckar Metropolitan Region. Alongside basic research the NAR focuses on support for young researchers and public relations work.

The appointment of Senior Professors enables Heidelberg University to continue to draw actively on the rich fund of experience amassed by its emeritus professors. Accordingly, Prof. Beyreuther will remain in office as director-elect of the Network Aging Research until September 2012.

Note for journalists
A digital photo of Prof. Dr. Konrad Beyreuther is available on request from the Press Office.

Contact
Dr. Birgit Teichmann
Network Aging Research
phone: +49 6221 548124
teichmann@nar.uni-heidelberg.de

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