Hans Thoenen, 1928 - 2012
Prof. Dr. h.c. mult. Hans Thoenen, an outstanding neurobiologist and our esteemed colleague, passed away on June 23 after a long illness.
Hans Thoenen quite literally set the cornerstone for the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology. In 1977, in a bid to entice him away from his chair for Pharmacology at the Biocenter in Basel, the Max Planck Society made him an offer he could not refuse: in addition to excellent conditions for establishing and expanding his own research department, he was given the opportunity to restructure a whole institute and erect a new building. Although he would have loved to stay in Switzerland, Hans Thoenen could not resist this challenge. He moved to Martinsried, where he supervised the planning and building of the newly established basic science branch of the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry that was completed in 1984 and renamed in 1998 to “Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology”. Hans Thoenen's push for innovation was by no means restricted to bricks and mortar. He also broke new ground in the new institute by introducing independent junior research groups alongside the traditional departments led by directors. This concept, together with a new level internationality, became – and still is – an important asset of the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology and indeed of many other Max Planck Institutes.
Hans Thoenen is best known for his work on neurotrophic factors. Neurotrophic factors are proteins that play a central role in the development and regeneration of nerve cells. They not only stimulate growth and survival of nerve cells but also enable them to connect to specific targets. Hans Thoenen also showed that they play an important role in the plasticity of the nervous system and are therefore crucial for cognitive abilities like learning and memory. Hans early on recognized the power of new molecular biological tools and integrated them into his research. He used them to manipulate specific genes in order to gain genetic data for physiological functions. He and his team set a milestone by cloning and analyzing the growth factors BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) and CNTF (ciliary neurotrophic factor). These accomplishments laid the grounds for one of the biggest and most important research areas of modern cellular neuroscience.
Hans Thoenen's pioneering work on growth factors led to the vision that it might one day be possible to use these proteins for treating brain damage and age-related neurodegenerative diseases. Although there are still significant hurdles to be overcome, this is one of the most promising avenues that the biotech and pharma industry are pursuing at this time.
Hans Thoenen was a freethinker and a character of his own. He grew up in the Swiss Alps, and nature inspired him just as much as discussions with his colleagues. He was a great mentor to many young scientists. His generosity, his competence as a scientist, his enthusiasm for new ideas, and cheerful, yet determined character and ability to inspire others made Hans Thoenen a very special person. It is also hard to think of Hans without thinking of his wife Sonja. Over the years, many of Hans' collaborators and colleagues experienced her as a warmhearted, humorous lady, who not only lovingly admonished Hans now and then, but also helped countless lab members to persevere when their road got bumpy, be it professionally or personally. Her support was especially important for Hans’ many foreign collaborators and their spouses, with many of which she has remained in contact to this very day.
We thank Hans for the time we could spend with him. He will live on in our hearts and minds and continue to be a source of inspiration to us.
***
Hans Thoenen studied medicine in Berne and Innsbruck. Before joining the Max-Planck Society, he worked in Berne, Innsbruck, Bethesda and Basel. In 1971 he was appointed director of the Neurobiological Research Group at the newly-founded Biozentrum of the University of Basel. In 1977 he became director of the theoretical branch of the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, which later was renamed into MPI of Neurobiology. He became an Emeritus Scientific Member of the institute in 1996.
Hans Thoenen received a great number of awards, testimony to his outstanding achievements. These include the Feldberg Prize, Cloetta Prize, Charles A Dana Award, Ralf B. Gerard Prize, Bristol-Myers Squibb Award and the Ernst Jung Medal in Gold for his life-time achievements. He was a member of many national and international academies among them the National Academy of Sciences, USA. He received honorary doctorates from the universities of Würzburg and Zürich.