In memory of Michael P. Manns
The Centre for Individualised Infection Medicine (CiiM), a collaboration between Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and Hannover Medical School (MHH), pays tribute to its founding director, Prof. Michael P. Manns, M.D.
Professor Manns was considered one of Europe's leading liver researchers. He published more than 1,000 articles in international peer-reviewed journals such as The New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, Nature, Nature Medicine, Cell, Gastroenterology and Hepatology. He received numerous awards, including the International Hans Popper Award, the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) Recognition Award and the Life Time Achievement Award from United European Gastroenterology (UEG), and was an honorary member of numerous national and international professional societies.
Michael Manns studied medicine at the University of Vienna, Austria, and the University of Mainz before continuing his clinical and scientific training at the Free University of Berlin and the University of Mainz. He was a specialist in internal medicine and was appointed professor of medicine at the University of Mainz in 1986. From 1987 to 1988, he worked as a research fellow at the Scripps Clinic and Research Foundation in La Jolla, California (USA). For 29 years, from 1991 to 2020, he was director of the MHH Clinic for Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Endocrinology and was also clinical director of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig from 2015 to 2018. In 2019, Michael Manns took over responsibility for the entire MHH as president, a position he held until the end of 2024. His six-year term included the coronavirus pandemic and the associated challenges for the MHH as a university hospital. However, generational change and the upcoming new construction of the MHH were also defining themes during his time as president. His focus was on the ongoing development of the MHH in all areas on the way to becoming a comprehensive Hannover Health Science Campus, particularly with regard to excellence in research.
Prof. Manns has been actively involved in the development of the CiiM since the initial concept was conceived in 2013. In 2015, he assumed the role of founding director. In this capacity, he oversaw the activities of the then-virtual CiiM and drove forward the establishment of the CiiM and the construction of the designated CiiM building. In January 2019, Prof. Manns handed over his position to Markus Cornberg upon assuming the office of President of the MHH. Starting in January 2025, Michael Manns held a senior professorship at the CiiM and, in this role, continued to actively support the center’s further development.
With Michael Manns, the CiiM has lost a visionary and influential figure. His scientific and personal achievements will live on in the work of the center.
