Univ. Prof. Dr. Markus Hengstschläger studierte Genetik an der Universität Wien, forschte auch an der Yale University und wurde schliesslich zum Universitätsprofessor an der Medizinischen Universität Wien berufen, wo er heute das Institut für Medizinische Genetik leitet. Der vielfach ausgezeichnete und international anerkannte Wissenschafter ist Träger des Grossen Ehrenzeichens für Verdienste um die Republik und ist unter anderem stellvertretender Vorsitzender der österreichischen Bioethikkommission sowie Mitglied des Universitätsrats der Universität Linz.
2020
We face many quandaries that have been answered before in one way or another, but the current pandemic brings an unannounced and unprecedented questions with it. While many people feel that things used to be simpler, the act of the matter is that we are being confronted with more and more both familiar and unfamiliar questions. This provides us with opportunities as well as problems and perhaps a sentiment of things getting progressively worse. Perhaps the reason can be found in a human instinct that causes uncertainty to be uncomfortable, with our ancestors depending on a capability to deal with sudden, unpredictable problems. Prof. Hengstschläger finds the most valuable human talent to be that of finding solutions, moreover the special form of creativity that comes to task while answering questions that no one has answered yet. The importance of promoting and developing this talent cannot be understated and is key to being prepared for the unpredictable.
