{{about||the academic psychologist|Michael P. Hengartner}} {{Short description|Swiss-Canadian biochemist & biologist}} {{Infobox person | name = Michael Otmar Hengartner | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1966|6|5}} | birth_place = St. Gallen, Switzerland | education = {{unbulleted list|Université Laval (1988)|Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Ph.D., 1994)}} | occupation = President of the ETH Board | spouse = Denise Hengartner | children = six }}
'''Michael Otmar Hengartner''' (born 5 June 1966, St. Gallen, Switzerland) is a Swiss-Canadian biochemist and molecular biologist.<ref name="B" /> From February 2020 he has been president of the ETH Board.<ref>{{cite web |title=Michael Hengartner appointed new president of the ETH Board |url=https://www.admin.ch/gov/en/start/documentation/media-releases.msg-id-76300.html |website=Swiss Federal Council |publisher=GS-EAER Communications}}</ref> Before that he was the president of the University of Zurich and president of the Swiss Rectors' Conference, swissuniversities.<ref name="B">{{cite web |url=http://www.leopoldina.org/fileadmin/redaktion/Mitglieder/CV_Hengartner_Michael_D.pdf |title=Curriculum Vitae Prof. Dr. Michael O. Hengartner |publisher=Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina |access-date=23 November 2017}}</ref>
== Early life and education == Hengartner was born in 1966, the son of a Swiss mathematics professor. The family moved first to Paris, later to Bloomington, Indiana and then to Quebec City, where he grew up.
He studied biochemistry at the Université Laval in Quebec, and graduated with a B.S. in 1988. He received a doctorate in 1994 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology under H. Robert Horvitz. He then led a research group at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://dnalc.cshl.edu/view/16808-Biography-38-Michael-Otmar-Hengartner-966-.html |title=Biography 38: Michael Otmar Hengartner (966 - ) |publisher=Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory |access-date=4 December 2020}}</ref>
== Career ==
In 1997, he co-founded the biotech company Devgen.<ref name="C">{{cite web |url=https://www.nagra.com/media-center/press-releases/board-directors-kudelski-group-will-propose-election-prof-michael |title=Election of Prof. Michael Hengartner as a New Member of the Board |date=25 March 2020 |publisher=NAGRA Kudelski Group |access-date=9 December 2020}}</ref> In 2001, he was appointed to the newly established Ernst Hadorn Endowed Professorship at the Institute of Molecular Biology of the University of Zurich.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nzz.ch/zuerich/wir-muessen-bologna-bildungskompatibler-machen-1.18233593 |title=Wir müssen Bologna bildungskompatibler machen |author=Walter Bernet |date=2 February 2014 |publisher=Neue Zürcher Zeitung |access-date=23 November 2017}}</ref> In 2008, he co-founded the scientific consultancy company Evaluescience.<ref name="C" /> From 2009 to 2014, he was Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences of the University of Zurich; and from 2014 to 2019, rector of the University of Zurich.<ref name="A">{{cite web |url=https://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/zuerich/stadt/Hi-I-m-Michael/story/23986650?track |title=Hi, I'm Michael |author=Mario Stäuble |date=25 June 2013 |publisher=Tages Anzeiger |access-date=23 November 2017}}</ref> Since 2019, he has been director of the ETH Board<ref name="urlUZH - UZH News - Michael Hengartner Resigns as President of UZH">{{cite web |url=https://www.news.uzh.ch/en/articles/2019/President.html |title=UZH - UZH News - Michael Hengartner Resigns as President of UZH |access-date=2020-03-11}}</ref> and since 2009, a member of the National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.leopoldina.org/de/mitglieder/mitgliederverzeichnis/member/1370/ |title=Michael O. Hengartner |publisher=Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften Leopoldina |access-date=23 November 2017}}</ref> On February 1, 2020, he took up his position as President of the ETH Board.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bluewin.ch/de/news/schweiz/uni-rektor-hengartner-wird-eth-ratsprasident-294992.html |title=Uni-Rektor Hengartner wird ETH-Ratspräsident |author=Walter Bieri |date=4 September 2019 |publisher=bluewin.ch |access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref> In August 2020 Hengartner spoke about the Swiss lack of courage to "think big" despite investing heavily in education and basic research. He confirmed ETH Zurich's efforts to fostering a culture of innovation achieving faster market maturity of innovative products, especially in the area of digitization and climate.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://magazin.nzz.ch/schweiz/michael-hengartner-der-schweiz-fehlt-oft-der-mut-ld.1571539 |title=Michael Hengartner: «Der Schweiz fehlt oft der Mut, gross zu denken» |author=René Donzé |date=15 August 2020 |publisher= magazin.nzz.ch |access-date=16 March 2023}}</ref> In November 2021 Hengartner highlighted the concerns about the consequences of brain drain from Switzerland.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/sci-tech/horizon-europe--swiss-universities-fear-brain-drain/47111998 |title=Horizon Europe: Swiss universities fear brain drain |date=15 November 2021 |publisher= swissinfo.ch |access-date=16 March 2023}}</ref>
In January 2022, Hengartner drew attention to Switzerland experiencing the first consequences of being excluded from Horizon Europe with top Swiss scientists losing leadership roles in Horizon projects and young scientists being denied internationally recognised grants and the resulting problems of attracting leading scientists. He emphasised the urgency for the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation to find alternative ways forward and for politicians to ensure its funding, but he also hoped for an EU agreement by the end of 2022.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.blick.ch/ausland/die-praesidenten-von-eth-und-scienceindustries-zum-fehlenden-eu-rahmenvertrag-wir-erleben-die-ersten-rueckschlaege-id17170128.html |title=Wir erleben die ersten Rückschläge |author=Reza Rafi, Simon Marti |date=23 January 2022 |publisher=blick.ch |access-date=30 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/sci-tech/swiss-universities-warn-of--serious-consequences--of-horizon-europe-exclusion/47285174 |title=Swiss universities warn of 'serious consequences' of Horizon Europe exclusion |date=23 January 2022 |publisher=swissinfo.ch |access-date=30 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.srf.ch/news/wirtschaft/ohne-horizon-europe-wie-schweizer-spitzenforscher-ausgebremst-werden |title=Wie Schweizer Spitzenforscher ausgebremst werden |author=Manuela Siegert |date=25 January 2022 |publisher=srf.ch |access-date=30 March 2023}}</ref>
In February 2022, in run up to the Swiss referendum on animal testing, Hengartner stood his ground in a debate, emphasising that Swiss laws ranked human life higher than that of animals, which is a moral value people either do or don't share, but at the same time he also highlighted the resulting tightrope walk of balancing the benefit of research for humans against the suffering of animals.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.watson.ch/schweiz/review/183494005-in-der-tierversuch-arena-prallen-emotionen-auf-geschliffene-saetze |title=Wenn Emotionen auf geschliffene Politiker-Sätze prallen – das war die Tierversuch-«Arena» |author=Helene Obrist |date=5 February 2022 |publisher=Watson|access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref> In October 2022 Hengartner discussed Switzerland's scientific advantage through the high number of well-known residential scientists making it an attractive choice for the upcoming generation, but also referred to his concerns over the EU's decision to relegate Switzerland to a „non-associated third country“, robbing Switzerland of its position of influence in Horizon Europe, the EU's 7-year scientific research programme, as well as denying it access to future funding from the European Research Council.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.swissinfo.ch/eng/business/swiss-researchers-fear-isolation/48002534 |title=Swiss researchers fear isolation |date=30 October 2022 |publisher=swissinfo.ch |access-date=4 April 2023}}</ref>
He is a member of the Swiss National Science Foundation.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wsj.com/market-data/quotes/KDCXF/company-people/executive-profile/185163253 |title=Kudelski S.A. |publisher=wsj.com |access-date=25 October 2022}}</ref>
== Private life == Hengartner is married to biologist Denise Hengartner. The couple has six children.<ref name="A" />
== Research interests == Hengartner is researching the molecular basis of apoptosis. He uses especially the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans as molecular organism. He is also investigating mechanisms of cancer, Alzheimer's and geriatric diseases.<ref name="B" />
== Awards == * 2003: Dr. Josef Steiner Cancer Research Prize * 2006: National Latsis Prize of Switzerland * 2006: Cloëtta Prize * 2010: Credit Suisse Award for Best Teaching from the University of Zurich * 2016: Honorary doctorate from Université Pierre et Marie Curie and the University of Paris-Sorbonne<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.news.uzh.ch/de/articles/2016/michael-hengartner-ehrendoktor.html |title=Ehrendoktorat Grosse Ehre aus Paris |date=17 October 2016 |publisher=UZH News |access-date=10 December 2020}}</ref>
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [http://www.imls.uzh.ch/research/hengartner.html The Hengartner Lab] at the University of Zurich * [http://www.leopoldina.org/fileadmin/redaktion/Mitglieder/CV_Hengartner_Michael_D.pdf Curriculum vitae] National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina * [https://www.ethrat.ch/de/mitglieder-eth-rat/michael-hengartner Prof. Dr. * Michael O. Hengartner, President] of the ETH Board *[https://web.archive.org/web/20180723210801/http://www.uzh.ch/about/management/unileitung/rektor.html Hengartner as rector] at the University of Zurich
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hengartner, Michael}} Category:Swiss biochemists Category:Canadian biochemists Category:Molecular biologists Category:1966 births Category:Université Laval alumni Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Category:People associated with the University of Zurich Category:People from St. Gallen (city) Category:Swiss emigrants to Canada Category:Living people