In memoriam of Reinhold Schmidt

The German Rheumatism Research Centre Berlin (DRFZ), a Leibniz Institute,
mourns the death of the President of the Board of Trustees

As a gifted physician and outstanding scientist, Reinhold Schmidt enriched clinical immunology and rheumatology in a unique way. His enthusiasm, dedication and organisational skills have left their mark on not only on medical research, but also at a national and international level in professional societies and in governmental health care bodies. As President of the 2009 European Congress of Immunology (ECI) in Berlin, he was responsible for organising an unforgettable congress. As a member of the Board of Trustees of the German Rheumatism Research Centre (since 2014) and its President (since 2018), he mastered the difficult task of shaping the generational change in the management of the DRFZ, thus giving the institute a promising perspective for the future. We will miss his enthusiasm and his clear view of Leibniz’s motto on medical research “theoria cum praxi”. 

Elisabeth Märker-Hermann, Vice-President of the Board of Trustees
and the members of the Board of Trustees
Fritz Melchers, Leibniz Chair
Andreas Radbruch, Scientific Director
Uta Bielfeldt, Administrative Director
and the staff of the DRFZ