On March 16, 2022, at the age of 95, our society’s founder and honorary president passed away. Professor Betz was born on June 10, 1926, in Holzhausen, Siegen district. At 17, while still a secondary school student, he was drafted into military service in 1943. He was taken prisoner by the French and was not able to sit his school-leaving exams until 1947. He studied medicine at Philipps University of Marburg, earned his doctorate there in 1953, and worked as a research assistant at the university’s medical clinic until 1959. In 1964, he completed his habilitation in physiology at the University of Marburg, and in 1967 he was appointed Professor of Clinical Physiology at the University of Tübingen. From 1968 until his retirement in 1993, he held the Chair of Applied Physiology at the University of Tübingen. After retiring, he began writing novels and short stories.
Professor Betz developed an experimental model of atherosclerosis using local electrical stimulation of the carotid artery and studied the cellular mechanisms involved in the development of atherosclerotic plaques. He sought interdisciplinary collaboration with anatomists, pathologists, cardiologists and angiologists, pharmacologists, clinical chemists and cell biologists. In 1986, together with Professor Dr. Werner Hauss, Professor Emeritus at the University of Münster’s Medical Clinic, he founded the German “Working Group,” soon renamed the German Society for Atherosclerosis Research. For the first 25 years, its meetings were held at the Heinrich Fabri Institute in Blaubeuren.
As the founding father and guiding spirit of our society, Professor Betz played a key role in fostering high-calibre research in the society’s network. His ability to show care and appreciation provided fertile ground for young scientists and new research groups to flourish. With his kind and unassuming manner, he helped shape the society’s culture of collegiality.
We bid farewell to Professor Dr. Eberard Betz with deep gratitude. We will honor his memory and share in his family’s grief with all our hearts.
Professor Dr. Harry Hahmann, on behalf of the German Society for Atherosclerosis Research
The German Society for Atherosclerosis Research mourns the loss of its founder and honorary president, Professor Dr. med. Eberhard Ludwig Betz
In Memoriam Professor Dr. med. Eberhard L. Betz
Professor Eberhard L. Betz, Professor Emeritus at the University of Tübingen’s Institute of Physiology, passed away peacefully on March 16, 2022, in his 96th year. Born in northern Hesse, he belonged to the generation whose studies and careers were disrupted by the war. At just 17, he was deployed as an air force auxiliary in Frankfurt am Main. He then served in the Labour Service, followed in 1944 by service in armored reconnaissance. He spent the final days of the war as a French prisoner of war and was released in 1946.
He attended secondary school in Dillenburg, where, after one additional year of study, the graduates were delighted to receive an emergency school-leaving certificate in 1947. He went on to study medicine at Philipps University of Marburg, earning his doctorate and medical license in 1953. His dissertation examined issues related to heart failure. Until 1959, he initially worked as an assistant at the Medical Clinic in Marburg, with periods in cardiology (Bad Orb) and balneology (Bad Salzschlirf). He then spent several years as an assistant at the University of Marburg’s Institute of Physiology. As no position was available, this work was interrupted by a year as a physician for Deutsche Bundesbahn and a brief spell as deputy head of the Medical Department at Alsfeld Hospital. Even then, assistants could face difficulties finding a position. However, this broad clinical training gave him a wide-ranging understanding of many areas of medicine that served him well in his research and teaching.
After earning his habilitation in physiology in 1964 with a thesis on the relationship between cerebral blood flow and metabolism, Professor Betz quickly earned a reputation for providing excellent supervision to doctoral students. He guided them through their weekly lab results and helped them present their research questions and findings to a specialist audience—something universities now seek to ensure for all doctoral students through structured doctoral programs. All his doctoral students in Marburg were sent to specialist conferences as soon as they had results to present. When he was appointed to an associate professorship in applied physiology in Tübingen in 1967, many of his doctoral students went with him as research assistants.
At first, Professor Betz continued his research into cerebral perfusion in Tübingen. After a few years, however, perhaps prompted by his own experience of illness, he turned to research on atherosclerosis. He quickly established a creative, interdisciplinary research group in this field at his institute. One line of research examined the cellular processes behind the familiar “fat deposits” associated with “hardening of the arteries” and the often fatal vascular blockages, using an experimental model of atherogenesis developed in collaboration with Professor W. Schlote of the Institute of Pathology. Another focus was the development of cell culture systems as in vitro alternatives, for example, for testing anti-atherosclerotic agents. He also pioneered the testing of arterial stents and vascular catheters, which are now among the most common interventional treatments in cardiology.
To foster collaboration and build professional networks even before the internet was a possibility, Professor Betz founded the German Society for Atherosclerosis Research in 1984 with Professor W. Hauss of the Institute for Atherosclerosis Research in Münster. The society brought together experimental and clinical research groups from Germany and abroad. Its annual scientific meetings, held at the Heinrich Fabri Institute in Blaubeuren, were known for the open, friendly and questioning, debate-oriented atmosphere that Professor Betz fostered. These meetings remain a lasting memory, especially for younger generations of scientists. The award for the best poster presentation at each meeting was named in Professor Betz’s honor.
His commitment to the institute and teaching ranged from serving as institute director, alternating with Professor R. Jacob, and as Dean of the Faculty of Theoretical Medicine (1989–1990), to teaching students in lectures and practical classes, whose quality mattered greatly to him. His former institute therefore recognizes the top exam results following the physiology practical with the “Eberhard Betz” Prize, consisting of a certificate and a book from his extensive body of written work.
The activities he pursued after his retirement in 1992 also demonstrated his creativity and versatility. As an amateur painter, he created impressive works of art; as a successful writer, he published several books on historical and autobiographical themes, adding a literary dimension to his extensive list of scientific publications. Until the very end, he satisfied his curiosity about the world and his pleasure in discussing it by actively participating in a university faculty discussion group founded by Bishop Claaß, bringing together scholars from all disciplines. With his passing, we have lost one of our university’s great scientists and most inspiring teachers.
Professor Helmut Heinle, Institute of Physiology, University of Tübingen
Professor Richard Meyermann, Institute of Brain Research, University of Tübingen