High honor for Professor Greten
08.05.2017 14:07
Prof. Dr. Heiner Greten (77), Chairman of the Heart, Vascular and Diabetes Center at the Asklepios Clinic St. Georg in Hamburg, has been awarded the highest distinction of the German Society for Internal Medicine (DGIM) – the Leopold Lichtwitz Medal.
„"With this medal, the DGIM honors individuals who have distinguished themselves through their work and dedication to the interests of internal medicine and the DGIM in an exceptional manner. In this way, the professional society recognizes outstanding physicians, exceptional clinical teachers, and researchers for their life's work. It expresses its gratitude and appreciation to those who have advanced the entire field of internal medicine and its professional society," according to the official statement.
The medal was awarded on April 30, 2017, at the DGIM Congress in Mannheim, which was attended by approximately 8,000 people. Prof. Dr. Heiner Greten, formerly Professor and Director of the First Department of Internal Medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, has been working at the Asklepios Clinic St. Georg in Hamburg since 2005: initially as Chairman of the Hanseatic Heart Center and since 2009 as Chairman of the Heart, Vascular, and Diabetes Center. Prof. Greten, who is well-known far beyond Hamburg as the long-time personal physician of former Chancellor Helmut Schmidt and his wife Loki, is particularly dedicated to prevention and offers his patients, whom he continues to see personally at the clinic every day, internal medicine check-ups.
Professor Heiner Greten received a NATO fellowship as a Visiting Scientist at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, Maryland (USA) in 1969. He completed his habilitation in internal medicine in Heidelberg in 1971. In 1972, he accepted a visiting professorship at the University of California, San Diego (USA). In 1980, he was appointed to the Chair of Internal Medicine at the University of Hamburg. He served as Medical Director of the Department of Internal Medicine at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) until his retirement in 2004.
In 1983, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas (USA) awarded him an honorary professorship. Since 1988, he has been a member of the German Academy of Natural Scientists and Physicians. He served as President of the German Society for Internal Medicine in 1995/96 and as President of the International Atherosclerosis Society from 2001 to 2003. Beginning in 2005, Professor Greten established the Hanseatic Heart Center at the Asklepios Clinic St. Georg in Hamburg and, in 2009, became Chairman of the clinic's newly opened Heart, Vascular, and Diabetes Center.
His main areas of research include arteriosclerosis and heart attack research, metabolic diseases, and metabolic problems in gastroenterological and endocrinological diseases.