Honorary Professor Appointed
At a ceremony on January 27, 2011, Professor Dr. Dieter Leonhard, President of Hochschule Mannheim – University of Applied Sciences, appointed Dr. Josef Puchta, Administrative-Commercial Director of the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ), Honorary Professor. The appointment is in recognition of his long-time commitment to studies and teaching as a lecturer and, in addition, of his support for the University in matters of science and science policy. The appointment makes Josef Puchta a member of Hochschule Mannheim – University of Applied Sciences.
Prof. Dr. Josef Puchta
© dkfz.de
It has been a great honor for Hochschule Mannheim that Nobel Laureate and former Scientific Director of DKFZ, Professor Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Harald zur Hausen, attended the event and held an opening speech. From 1996 to 2003, Harald zur Hausen and Josef Puchta jointly headed the German Cancer Research Center.
The appointment will further promote the close collaboration of Hochschule Mannheim – University of Applied Sciences and the German Cancer Research Center. For many years now, the University and DKFZ, one of the leading high-end research institutes, have been collaborating closely and trustfully within the framework of BioRegion activities, the two Excellence Clusters and in the faculty of biotechnology. Several of the University’s professors worked as researchers at DKFZ prior to their appointment and a number of graduates of Hochschule Mannheim have become employees of DKFZ working in research. This exchange and the possibilities for students of Hochschule Mannheim to spend a practical semester or do their final thesis at DKFZ and eventually do their doctorate there are emphatically supported and promoted by Josef Puchta.
Josef Puchta was born in 1954 in Altötting. He studied economics at the Universities of Augsburg and Erlangen-Nuremberg and received his doctoral degree (Dr. rer. pol.) at the University of Oldenburg. In 1983 and 1984 Josef Puchta spent research periods in Canada. From 1987 until 1992, he worked in Berlin for the German Foundation for International Development (Deutsche Stiftung für Internationale Entwicklung) and in the Senate Department for Economics and Technology of the State of Berlin. In 1992, Josef Puchta was appointed Administrative Director of the German Institute of Human Nutrition in Potsdam (Deutsches Institut für Ernährungsforschung). Since August 1, 1996 he has been Administrative-Commercial Director of DKFZ.
With more than 3,000 employees, the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) is Germany’s largest biomedical research institute. DKFZ scientists identify cancer risk factors, investigate how cancer progresses and develop new cancer prevention strategies. They are also developing new methods to diagnose tumors more precisely and treat cancer patients more successfully. The DKFZ's Cancer Information Service (KID) provides patients, interested citizens and experts with individual answers to questions relating to cancer.
To transfer promising approaches from cancer research to the clinic and thus improve the prognosis of cancer patients, the DKFZ cooperates with excellent research institutions and university hospitals throughout Germany:
The DKFZ is 90 percent financed by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and 10 percent by the state of Baden-Württemberg. The DKFZ is a member of the Helmholtz Association of German Research Centers.
