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M.D., Pediatrician, Senior consultant for inborn errors of metabolism and diabetology, University of Frankfurt – Department of Pediatrics, Germany

(b Bielefeld, Germany, 28th September 1950; q 1978 Westfälische Wilhelms University Münster, Germany, M.D.; 1983 Westfälische Wilhelms University Münster, Germany, doctoral thesis; d 24th January 2015, Mainz, Germany)

The metabolic community has lost a faithful long-time member, Dr. Jürgen Herwig, who passed away aged 64 after a severe illness.

After graduating from medical school in 1978, Jürgen Herwig started his career in the biochemical laboratory in Münster, where he worked on osteochondral proteoglycan and glycosaminoglycan structures and where he achieved a deep-founded knowledge on the biochemical principles of inborn errors of metabolism. He received his doctor’s degree in 1983, for his work on sodium taurolithocholate induced cholestasis in rats. In 1984, Jürgen Herwig started his pediatric training at the University Children’s Hospital in Mainz, and in 1990 he became the senior consultant for inborn errors of metabolism and diabetology in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Frankfurt.

Throughout his clinical work, the best care and treatment of his patients were his primary goals. Jürgen Herwig was a pediatrician to the core and his life was dedicated to his work and his patients. It was due to this continued persistence and support that many patients and their families could be guided through infancy and adolescence into adult life. He forwarded the development of new treatment strategies and supported various patients’ organizations. Jürgen Herwig released more than 40 publications on inborn errors of metabolism and diabetology as well as patients’ manuals. He will be remembered as an excellent pediatrician, and will be sadly missed by his patients, their families, his colleagues and friends.

Our deepest sympathy goes out to his family, especially to his wife and son.