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Obituary for Prof. Walter Knapp (1944–2004)
Immunology Letters 98 (2005) 177–178
Personal report
Obituary for Prof. Walter Knapp (1944–2004)
The year 2004 was clouded by the death of Professor Walter Knapp on August 30, a sad loss for his family, his friends, his disciples, his coworkers as well as for the entire immunologic community in Austria and abroad. After graduation from Innsbruck’s University Medical School, Walter–a native Tyrolean–soon developed a keen interest in biomedical research and joined, in 1970, the Institute of Immunology of Vienna’s University Medical School that had been founded only a few years earlier by Carl Steffen, the godfather of immunology in postwar Austria. In 1972, he was granted the opportunity to embark on a research fellowship to the Netherlands where he received his scientific identity. Guided by his mentors Willy Hijmans and Jan S. Ploem, he established and developed new fluorometric immunolabeling techniques that he would use in the years to come to study the movement of immunoglobulins on individual lymphocytes, the deposition of pathogenic immunoreactants in diseased tissue and, most importantly, the expression of hemopoietic differentiation antigens under physiologic and pathologic conditions.
DOI of original article:10.1016/j.imlet.2005.02.003. 0165-2478/$ – see front matter doi:10.1016/j.imlet.2005.02.002
After his return to Vienna, he pursued his academic career with great dedication and enthusiasm and was ultimately appointed Professor and Chairman of Vienna’s Institute of Immunnology which, under his leadership, became one, if not the top research institution of the entire Medical School. Walter Knapp’s scientific harvest was enormously rich as also evidenced by nearly 400 scientific publications many of which appeared in the top journals of immunology, hematology and experimental medicine. Some of his contributions have opened new roads and directions as, for example, his studies on innate immunity at a time when most immunologists doubted the relevance of this “primitive” ancient branch of immunity. He played a pivotal role in unravelling phenotype and function of dendritic cells, a field of immunology that Austria is particularly known for. He was also one of the first to see the potential of monoclonal antibodies for biomedical research, diagnosis and therapy. At the same time, he recognized the need for rules to control hybridoma technology and became a key figure in the establishment of the CD (cluster of differentiation) nomenclature. Walter Knapp’s prominent role in the national and international scientific community is also mirrored in the positions he occupied in important research institutions and in the awards and prizes bestowed upon him. He was member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, vice president of the Austrian Science Foundation, president of the Austrian Society of Allergology and Immunology as well as of the European Federation of Immunological Societies and honorary member of the German Society of Immunology to name just a few. All of us who had the privilege to interact with Walter Knapp will always remember him as a researcher with a brilliant intellect and a sharp analytical mind and as a fine and truly noble man, knowing about the relative importance of things and accepting them with composure, firm and determined in his principles, loyal and faithful to the people who were close to him and warm and gracious in his heart. We will also never forget his joyful way of laughing, one but certainly not the only facet of his wonderful sense of humor. Immunologists from inside and outside of Austria feel a strong committment to keep Walter’s legacy alive,
178
Personal report / Immunology Letters 98 (2005) 177–178
ensuring that all the steps are taken which allow immunology in Austria to maintain and even further strengthen its leading position among the biomedical research disciplines. Dietrich Kraft Georg Stingl
Hannes Stockinger Department of Molecular Immunology Center for Biomolecular, Medicine and Pharmacology Medical University of Vienna Lazarettgasse 19 A-1090 Vienna, Austria Available online 25 February 2005
Personal report
Obituary for Prof. Walter Knapp (1944–2004)
The year 2004 was clouded by the death of Professor Walter Knapp on August 30, a sad loss for his family, his friends, his disciples, his coworkers as well as for the entire immunologic community in Austria and abroad. After graduation from Innsbruck’s University Medical School, Walter–a native Tyrolean–soon developed a keen interest in biomedical research and joined, in 1970, the Institute of Immunology of Vienna’s University Medical School that had been founded only a few years earlier by Carl Steffen, the godfather of immunology in postwar Austria. In 1972, he was granted the opportunity to embark on a research fellowship to the Netherlands where he received his scientific identity. Guided by his mentors Willy Hijmans and Jan S. Ploem, he established and developed new fluorometric immunolabeling techniques that he would use in the years to come to study the movement of immunoglobulins on individual lymphocytes, the deposition of pathogenic immunoreactants in diseased tissue and, most importantly, the expression of hemopoietic differentiation antigens under physiologic and pathologic conditions.
DOI of original article:10.1016/j.imlet.2005.02.003. 0165-2478/$ – see front matter doi:10.1016/j.imlet.2005.02.002
After his return to Vienna, he pursued his academic career with great dedication and enthusiasm and was ultimately appointed Professor and Chairman of Vienna’s Institute of Immunnology which, under his leadership, became one, if not the top research institution of the entire Medical School. Walter Knapp’s scientific harvest was enormously rich as also evidenced by nearly 400 scientific publications many of which appeared in the top journals of immunology, hematology and experimental medicine. Some of his contributions have opened new roads and directions as, for example, his studies on innate immunity at a time when most immunologists doubted the relevance of this “primitive” ancient branch of immunity. He played a pivotal role in unravelling phenotype and function of dendritic cells, a field of immunology that Austria is particularly known for. He was also one of the first to see the potential of monoclonal antibodies for biomedical research, diagnosis and therapy. At the same time, he recognized the need for rules to control hybridoma technology and became a key figure in the establishment of the CD (cluster of differentiation) nomenclature. Walter Knapp’s prominent role in the national and international scientific community is also mirrored in the positions he occupied in important research institutions and in the awards and prizes bestowed upon him. He was member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, vice president of the Austrian Science Foundation, president of the Austrian Society of Allergology and Immunology as well as of the European Federation of Immunological Societies and honorary member of the German Society of Immunology to name just a few. All of us who had the privilege to interact with Walter Knapp will always remember him as a researcher with a brilliant intellect and a sharp analytical mind and as a fine and truly noble man, knowing about the relative importance of things and accepting them with composure, firm and determined in his principles, loyal and faithful to the people who were close to him and warm and gracious in his heart. We will also never forget his joyful way of laughing, one but certainly not the only facet of his wonderful sense of humor. Immunologists from inside and outside of Austria feel a strong committment to keep Walter’s legacy alive,
178
Personal report / Immunology Letters 98 (2005) 177–178
ensuring that all the steps are taken which allow immunology in Austria to maintain and even further strengthen its leading position among the biomedical research disciplines. Dietrich Kraft Georg Stingl
Hannes Stockinger Department of Molecular Immunology Center for Biomolecular, Medicine and Pharmacology Medical University of Vienna Lazarettgasse 19 A-1090 Vienna, Austria Available online 25 February 2005