It was with great sadness that the EDF Board learned of the death of our friend and colleague Professor Marcus Maurer. After he failed to return from a hike at the end of July, he was finally found dead near Lake Maggiore on September 7, 2024. We have lost an inspiring and cheerful colleague, cooperation partner and friend for whom we deeply mourn.
Marcus Maurer was an outstanding scientist in his field, with great initiative, ingenuity and an impressive drive. His main areas of research included urticaria, mastocytosis, pruritus and angioedema, and in particular the physiological and pathological functions of mast cells. Marcus' work in these areas was outstanding and exemplary. He published a large number of important original scientific papers and was the author of numerous books or book chapters. Marcus Maurer was always willing to pass on his knowledge to co-workers, colleagues and students, and communication with patients was also important to him. Marcus Maurer had an outstanding ability to combine clinical work with scientific research at the highest level. He had an exceptional talent for establishing successful collaborations and communicating scientific findings in an understandable way. He was able to transfer his enthusiasm to his colleagues, cooperation partners and not least to patients and the public.
Marcus Maurer studied medicine at the Universities of Mainz and Berlin and worked as a postdoc at Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital, Harvard Medical School in Boston. He was until recently Vice Director of the Institute of Allergology at Charité University Medical Center, Berlin, and at the same time Co-Director of Immunology and Allergology at the Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology. Marcus Maurer was also the driving force behind several successful national and international collaborative projects on diseases that were particularly close to his heart.
As the Board of the EDF, we extend our sincere and heartfelt condolences to Marcus's family. His death, incomprehensible to us all, will leave a deep and painful wound for all those who knew him.
