Professor Dr. med. Reinhold Ernst Schmidt (1951 – 2022)

It is with great sadness that the EFIS Board announces the passing of former EFIS Treasurer, Professor Reinhold Schmidt, who died on 23rd January 2022.

Reinhold Schmidt was the Director of the Department for Immunology and Rheumatology at Hannover Medical School (MHH). He started his career studying Medicine and Psychology at the University of Bonn, followed by training in internal medicine, rheumatology and immunology in Bonn, Boston and London. In 1995, he was appointed full Professor and Director of the Department of Clinical Immunology and Rheumatology at the MHH. Since 2004, he was also the Director of the Jeffrey Modell Center (JMF) for Diagnostics and Therapy of Immunodeficiency at the MHH. His research interests included, autoimmunity, the pathogenesis of immunodeficiencies and HIV/AIDS.

Among his many noteworthy appointments and awards, Reinhold Schmidt will be perhaps best remembered for his dedicated service to advancing clinical and translational immunology research. He was a true advocate of immunology: at the national level in Germany, he was President of the German Society for Immunology (DGfI) between 2005 and 2006; at the European level, he served as Treasurer on the EFIS Board for nine years (1998 – 2006), and internationally, he was Chairman of the Clinical Immunology Committee and Councillor for the International Union of Immunological Societies (IUIS) for more than a decade. Furthermore, as President of the 2nd European Congress of Immunology (ECI 2009), he played a pivotal role in organising one of the most successful ECIs to date.

Speaking on behalf of the entire EFIS Board, Past President Sergio Romagnani said, “I knew Reinhold Schmidt very well as he served as Treasurer while I was EFIS President from 2000 to 2003. During this time, I had the opportunity to appreciate his impressive scientific competence, as well as his enthusiasm and love for clinical immunology. But I would like to remember Reinhold as a kind and affable man, full of cheer and able to instill happiness around him. I am mourning his departure, together with all people who have had the pleasure and the privilege of meeting and loving him,” Sergio Romagnani, Professor Emeritus, University of Florence, Italy and EFIS Past President.

The EFIS Board sends their sincere condolences to the family of Reinhold Schmidt – a wonderful friend and colleague who will be sorely missed.

EFIS – In Memoriam of Reinhold Ernst Schmidt – Download

Courtesy of the European Federation of Immunological Societies (EFIS).