Jörg Hacker

Jörg Hinrich Hacker

Jörg Hinrich Hacker (born 13 February 1952) is a German microbiologist. He served as president of the Robert Koch Institute from 2008 to 2010 and of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina from 2010 to 2020. He is the editor-in-chief of the International Journal of Medical Microbiology.

Early life and education

Born in Grevesmühlen, Mecklenburg, Hacker studied biology from 1970 to 1974 at the Martin Luther University in Halle and obtained his PhD in 1979.

Career

From 1980 to 1988 Hacker worked as a junior researcher at the University of Würzburg, where he obtained his habilitation in microbiology in 1986.

From 1988 until 1993, Hacker was professor of microbiology at the University of Würzburg. In 1993 he moved to the chair for Molecular Infection Biology, which he held until 2008. From 2003 to 2009, he was vice president of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.[1] From March 2008 to March 2010, he succeeded Reinhard Kurth as president of the Robert Koch Institute.[2]

On 1 October 2009, Hacker was elected president of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. The solemn inauguration ceremony took place on 26 February 2010 and his official starting date was 1 March 2010. In 2020, he was succeeded by Gerald Haug.[3][4]

In 2011, Hacker was appointed by Chancellor Angela Merkel to the Federal Government’s Ethics Commission on a Safe Energy Supply, co-chaired by Matthias Kleiner and Klaus Töpfer.[5] In 2017, he was part of the selection committee chaired by Jules A. Hoffmann that chose Stewart Cole as director of the Institut Pasteur.[6] From 2017 until 2019, he was a member of the German Ministry of Health’s International Advisory Board on Global Health, chaired by Ilona Kickbusch.[7] In 2022 he received the Robert Koch Medal in Gold.[8]

Work

Hacker's main research interests are the molecular analysis of bacterial pathogens, their spread and variability, as well as their interactions with host cells.[9][10] From 2001 to 2008 he served as co-coordinator of the BMBF programs PathoGenoMik and PathoGenoMik Plus. Hacker is responsible for coining the term "pathogenicity island" to describe a region of a bacterial genome that encodes disease causing traits.[11]

Other activities

References

  1. ^ "DFG gratuliert Jörg Hacker zur Wahl als Leopoldina-Präsident" (in German). Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft. 2 October 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  2. ^ "Jörg Hacker ist neuer Präsident des Robert Koch-Instituts" (in German). IDW. 29 February 2008. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  3. ^ Gerald Haug elected President of the Leopoldina National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, press release of December 11, 2019.
  4. ^ Joachim Müller-Jung (December 11, 2019), Leopoldina wählt Gerald Haug: Klimaforscher wird die Nationalakademie führen Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
  5. ^ Jörg Hacker in die neu gebildete Ethikkommission „Sichere Energieversorgung“ berufen Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, press release of April 7, 2011.
  6. ^ Launch of the recruitment process for the Director of the Institut Pasteur Institut Pasteur, press release of May 2, 2017.
  7. ^ Four new members complete the International Advisory Board on Global Health Federal Ministry of Health, press release of July 2, 2018.
  8. ^ Robert Koch Medal in Gold 2022
  9. ^ Hacker, Jörg; Dobrindt, Ulrich (5 March 2007). Pathogenomics: Genome Analysis of Pathogenic Microbes. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-3-527-60751-8. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  10. ^ Hacker, J. (29 April 2002). Pathogenicity Islands and the Evolution of Pathogenic Microbes. Springer. p. 8. ISBN 978-3-540-42681-3. Retrieved 25 July 2012.
  11. ^ Miller, Robert; Day, Martin (2004). Microbial Evolution. USA: American Society of Microbiology press. p. 252. ISBN 1-55581-271-6.
  12. ^ Board of Trustees University of Würzburg.
  13. ^ Board of Trustees German Cancer Aid.
  14. ^ Board of Trustees Free University of Berlin.
  15. ^ Senate, as on 7 February 2019[permanent dead link] Leibniz Association.
  16. ^ Board of Directors Robert Koch Foundation.
  17. ^ International Advisory Board Centre Virchow-Villermé.
  18. ^ Scientific Advisory Board Robert Koch Institute (RKI).
  19. ^ Board of Trustees Deutscher Zukunftspreis.
  20. ^ Council World Health Summit.
  21. ^ a b c d e "Curriculum Vitae Professor Dr. Dr. h. c. mult. Jörg Hacker" (PDF). leopoldina.org. Halle: National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina. 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.