DZL PI Prof. Dr. Axel Haverich was honored with the renowned Fritz Behrens Prize for his life’s work on June 17th in Hannover.
The prize includes 30,000 Euros and is awarded by the Fritz Behrens Foundation in the field of science every two years. The laudatio at the award ceremony was delivered by Prof. Dr. Werner Seeger, chairman and spokesman of the DZL.
Dr. Haverich works in the field of organ transplantation at the Hannover Medical School. His research focuses on the search for biological replacements for diseased organs. Numerous internationally significant developments in the fields of cardiac, thoracic, transplantation and vascular surgery can be attributed to the work of Dr. Haverich. Among other things, he and his team developed a heart valve grown in the lab that was implanted for the first time in 2002 in children. Another topic of concern is the preservation and healing of organs outside the body for transplantation. With the help of the refined "Organ Care" transportation system developed by Dr. Haverich and colleagues, donor lungs can be supplied at body temperature and stored for up to 24 hours before transplantation. Currently Dr. Haverich and colleagues are also working on the production of organs by 3D printing. The researchers have teamed up with electrical engineers from the Leibniz University of Hannover, copying the heart of a mini pig with precise detail using a new cutting technique.
The Fritz Behrens Foundation is a German non-profit Foundation for the promotion of arts, heritage conservation, science and charity. The Foundation was established in 1923 with funds from the estate of the entrepreneur Friedrich Eduard Behrens and has its headquarters in Hanover.