Harald zur Hausen Honorary Professor of Virology at Heidelberg University who was awarded the Nobel Prize for his work discovering a link between a common wart-causing virus and cancer cervix, died at the age of 87.

Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg, where Dr. zur Hausen was scientific director until 2003, when he announced his death.

“He went against established dogma,” says the 2008 Nobel Prize in Medicine announcement, which Dr. S. Zur Hausen told two French researchers about their work to identify HIV.

When dr. Zur Hausen began his research in the 1970s, experts believed that cervical cancer was mainly caused by factors such as hormones or heredity.

The case of Dr. Zur Hausen relied on viruses such as the Epstein-Barr virus, which can increase the risk of cancer in the lymph nodes. According to his hypothesis, many women diagnosed with cervical cancer also had genital warts caused by HPV.

By 1984, Zur Hausen had published two studies confirming the presence of HPV strains in cervical cancer clusters.

In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first HPV vaccine, which was recommended for both girls and boys. More than 75% of boys and girls under the age of 17 in the US have received at least one dose of the HPV vaccine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (The incidence of cervical cancer in the United States has declined, with about 13,000 new cases a year and about 4,000 deaths, according to the CDC.)

The multi-awarded professor, in addition to his scientific achievements, was also distinguished by his philhellenic feelings, which he expressed by writing a memorandum along with 21 other Nobel Prize winners in April 2012 in support of science in Greece during the economic crisis. The memorandum was submitted to the Presidents of the European Parliament, the European Council and the European Union.

“I signed this letter after discussions with my Greek colleagues and seeing firsthand this ‘unacceptable’ situation that hurts me and should not happen in Europe. What worries me most is the emigration of your excellent scientists to foreign countries, for example, to America. This drain of great minds and talents is detrimental to scientific research and the future of the country. Therefore, I believed that everyone should make every effort to stop this phenomenon, ”Harald zur Hausen emphasized at the time.

Source: Washington Post, RES.