In Memoriam

Dr. Konrad Müller-Hermelink - May 2024

Professor Hans Konrad Müller-Hermelink studied medicine in Tübingen, Kiel and in Montpellier / France. His training in pathology was largely done in Kiel, where he came in contact with Professor Karl Lennert, founder of our Society, and the world of thymomas and lymphomas. From 1984-2009, he was chair of the Institute of Pathology at the Julius-Maximilians-Universität in Würzburg which he had soon transformed into a modern institution introducing immunohistochemical techniques and molecular methods.

During his scientific career, he made outstanding observations in the fields of thymoma and lymphoma pathology and became one of the fathers of the modern taxonomy of thymomas accepted by the WHO. Konrad Müller-Hermelink founded the Reference Center for Lymphoma Pathology and Hematopathology in Würzburg. After having become a member of the International Lymphoma Study Group (ILSG), he was one of the key persons who paved the way to a unified lymphoma classification all around the world. Konrad Müller-Hermelink was Editor of the WHO classification of hematolymphoid neoplasms in 2008. He organised the meeting of the EA4HP 1990 in Würzburg, was president of the Society (1996-1998) and received the Deutsche Krebspreis, the Virchow medal and the Karl Lennert medal in honour of his scientific achievements.

Above all, to us and to many, Konrad was not only a brilliant scientist with a sharp mind who challenged us every day, but also a fatherly mentor, a humorous companion in science, and a true and dear friend. He trained and advised a generation of German hematopathologists and pathologists from abroad - his legacy is immense. Those who had the privilege of knowing him now have faced a big loss in their lives and will commemorate him as their mentor and friend.





German Ott
Andreas Rosenwald