The community of the AETE wants to share the sad news of the death of Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Kanitz, former Board member and President of the AETE from 2003 until 2006. He passed away on 13th of March 2021. Wilhelm was the head of the Department for Reproductive Biology at the Leibniz Institute for Farm Animals in Dummerstorf / Germany from 1992 until 2012.
It is challenging to overlook his great creative and driven role in Biotechnology and Physiology in farm animals and horses in these and former times. The Humboldt University of Berlin graduated him in Veterinarian medicine in 1979. Soon afterward Wilhelm played an important role and gave the full fresh energy to the establishment, standardisation and research of the bovine ET in the Eastern part of Germany as well as in East European countries. After Unification of Germany, he became an active member of the AETE and later a founding Member of ECAR and continued his research work in the area of reproductive physiology, embryo technology and production. The idea of bringing together practitioners and researchers from all parts of Europe had become a great interest of him. Wilhelm had always focused on linking basic research with an effective management of reproduction in farm animal and horses. Therefore, he was always in durable contact to many representatives of breeding organizations, research institutes and other stakeholders. In cooperation with his scientific group and many other national and international colleagues, he contributed to more than 500 papers, book chapters, abstracts and scientific talks. He guided many doctoral students and post-docs in their first scientific steps. During his own scientific career, Wilhelm received much national and international respect for his commitment, scientific contributions and achievements. He became only 67 years old.
We express sorrow for a friend and colleague who strongly influenced our scientific way and who reminds us the imponderability of human life.
Frank Becker; Klaus-Peter Brüssow - Dummerstorf
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