HEIDELBERG: The renowned German cancer researcher and Nobel Prize winner in Medicine, Harald zur Hausen, is dead, reported German news agency (dpa).
He died on Sunday at the age of 87, the German Cancer Research Centre (DKFZ) in Heidelberg announced on Monday evening. Zur Hausen headed the DKFZ in Heidelberg for 20 years.
“With him, we lose an outstanding scientist who made ground-breaking achievements in the field of tumour virology,” said Michael Baumann, chairman of the board and scientific director of the DKFZ.
The internationally renowned virologist was considered the intellectual father of a widely used vaccine against cervical cancer and other tumours, which earned him the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 2008.
“Without exaggeration, one can say that Harald zur Hausen has thus opened up a whole new dimension of cancer prevention,” says Baumann.
Most recently, the scientist had been researching a possible link between milk and beef consumption and the development of breast and colon cancer. – BERNAMA-dpa
