Med Microbiol Immunol (1998) 187: 1

© Springer-Verlag 1998

In memoriam: Paul Klein

Paul Klein died at the age of 78 following a long and serious illness. Prof. Paul Klein, M.D., was Emeritus Professor of Medical Microbiology and the former director of the Department of Medical Microbiology at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz. With his passing we have lost a scientist, a teacher, the spirit and driving force of an academic school fostering intellectual and scientific independence, and an outstanding supporter not only of medical microbiology but also of immunology. Paul Klein was born in Schäßburg, Siebenbürgen (Romania) on 23 October 1919. He began his medical studies at Klausenburg, continued in Tübingen, and received his MD degree from the University of Heidelberg in 1949. Paul Klein’s scientific career started at the Karlsruhe Institute of Pathology under R. Böhmig. He then moved to the Institute of Hygiene, Düsseldorf, where he studied the nature and function of chemotherapeutic agents with Walter Kikuth. At this stage of his career, he was introduced to the study of the complement system, which became the focus of his later research. During a fellowship at Cornell

University, Klein set up a renowned laboratory for the study of complement. A major development at this time was the demonstration that Masugi nephritis involved complement deposition on the glomerular basement membrane. In 1961, he was called to the chair of what then was called the discipline of hygiene at Mainz. Klein saw a need to separate the field of medical microbiology from that of public health, and he succeeded in convincing the state administration that his view was the way forward. Under his leadership, medical microbiology flourished as a scientific discipline. He amalgamated the study of immunology with that of host-parasite interactions. A major breakthrough was his demonstration in 1965 that the “classical” third component of complement consists of five distinct proteins. As director of the institute he stimulated young investigators and encouraged them to develop their own independent laboratories. While fostering independence, Klein maintained close contact with his disciples and, in doing so, aided their development. These young members of Klein’s school now occupy professorial positions throughout Germany. In 1973 Klein consolidated the activities of his young independent investigators at the institute through a special research program focused on different aspects of immunology. Under his leadership both medical microbiology and immunology flourished in Mainz. Following the success of this first program, he initiated a second program in the mid-1980s on cellular aspects of immunopathology. He led this program until his retirement in 1990. His private life was coloured by his love of his family and of music. He was a great admirer of the pianist Horowitz and of the violinist Heifetz. He had a sublime affection for the violin, which he played with skill and passion. His mastery of the German language, deeply routed in his profound knowledge of literature, was unsurpassed. Paul Klein has passed away. He has left a legacy which will live on in his disciples, who are now amongst those who will lead medical microbiology and immunology into the 20th century. Hermann Wagner, Munich