Drei Wissenschafter:innen aus Österreich in ``Lancet Infectious Diseases`` (Mai 2025) portraitiert
In der Mai 2025 Ausgabe der renommierten Fachzeitschrift ``Lancet Infectious Diseases`` wurden drei Österreicher:innen aufgrund der herausragenden wissenschaftlichen Leistungen und Tätigkeiten in ihrem Fachgebiet vom Editor/Editorial Board für die „Profile“-Rubrik ausgewählt und portraitiert:
Frau Professorin Cornelia Lass-Flörl, Expertin auf dem Gebiet der medizinischen Mykologie
„Cornelia Lass-Flörl had originally wanted to be an anaesthesiologist and intensive care medicine specialist, believing that's where the action was. But after her medical studies at the University of Innsbruck and working in ICU at Kufstein Hospital, Lass-Flörl's career was turned in a completely different direction by the death of a 19-year-old woman from complications of urosepsis due to Escherichia coli. “This young woman died within two days—I thought—how can this happen?” Lass-Flörl tells The Lancet Infectious Diseases. “I saw that these tiny microbes, that are all around and inside us, can be lethal. I needed to know all I could about microbiology”. Today, she is Professor of Microbiology and Head of the Institute of Hygiene and Medical Microbiology at the Medical University of Innsbruck, Austria.”
Frau Professorin Elisabeth Presterl, Expertin auf dem Gebiet der Krankhaushygiene
``Raised in southern Austria, Elisabeth Presterl originally wanted to be an archaeologist, following in the footsteps of her academically accomplished family. “My mother had a doctorate in philosophy and was a schoolteacher, my father was an electrical engineer, and my grandfather was a medical doctor”, shares Presterl. Fascinated by microbes, particularly pathogens, she decided to pursue medicine as a career, obtaining her medical degree at the Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria, and then further specialising in Hygiene and Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine. Presterl recalls that at the start of her medical career, “the topic of infectious diseases was widely underestimated. Antibiotics and vaccination programs had been so successful that everybody believed that research in infectious diseases was not necessary anymore because they will eventually disappear”. Consequently, the topics of hygiene and infection control were neglected, she adds.``
Herr Professor Michael Ramharter, Experte auf dem Gebiet der Tropenmedizin
``Growing up in Vienna, Austria, Michael Ramharter recalls discussing human biology with his dentist father. He thinks these talks influenced his interest in health sciences. But he notes, “I was very sure from very early age that he did not want to become a dentist”. Instead, Ramharter was interested in parasites. “I was always fascinated by parasites and worms with their complex life cycles”, he says. Travelling and experiencing foreign cultures were also passions. Aged 16, Ramharter went Interrailing and travelled to Morocco with a friend. “We were completely lost in this foreign and strange world, and it left a very important impression on me”. Then, aged 18, he and his friends started several off-road expeditions crossing the Libyan desert. “This was a big adventure for me”, he recalls. He knew he “wanted to continue to explore the world with its diversity of nature and cultures in the future.” Ramharter studied medicine and trained in internal medicine, infectious diseases, and tropical medicine. Today, he is Professor in Clinical Tropical Medicine and Head of the Division of Tropical Medicine at the University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf and Head of the Department of Clinical Research, Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine, Hamburg, Germany.``