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Lothar H. Wieler | |
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Born | Lothar Heinz Wieler 8 February 1961 |
Nationality | German |
Scientific career | |
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Website |
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Lothar Heinz Wieler (born 8 February 1961) is a German veterinarian and microbiologist who served as president of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) from 2015 to 2023. [1] In this capacity, he advised the German Federal and State Governments on topics of public health, especially infection hazards, and on the containment of the COVID-19 pandemic. [2]
Wieler was born in Königswinter, Germany. He studied veterinary medicine at Free University of Berlin and Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich from 1980 to 1985. [3]
From 1998 until 2015, Wieler worked as professor and director of the Institute of Microbiology and Epizootics at the Free University of Berlin. During that time, he spent a sabbatical at the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Hinxton under the supervision of Gordon Dougan. [3]
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany, Wieler launched Europe’s first large-scale SARS-CoV-2 antibody testing in an effort to help researchers assess infection rates and monitor the spread of the virus more effectively; the study was carried out jointly by the Robert Koch Institute, Charité and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research. [4]
In addition to his role at RKI, Wieler was a member of the World Health Organization's Strategic and Technical Advisory Group for Infectious Hazards (STAG-IH) since 2018. [5] In 2020, he chaired the WHO's Committee for the Review of the International Health Regulations. [6] Also in 2020, he was appointed to the Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance, co-chaired by Sheikh Hasina and Mia Mottley. [7]
Since 2023, Wieler has been working at the Hasso Plattner Institute. [8]