Draft:Ulrich Bienzle

Ulrich Bienzle (* 10. Januar 1939 in Jerusalem; † 17. März 2008 in Berlin) was a German tropical medicine physician and director of the Berlin Tropical Institute until 2006.

Life
After studying medicine, he went to Nigeria to work for two years with a missionary organization and then at a research institute. This was followed by specialist training as a pediatrician and tropical medicine physician, including a residency at the Bernhard Nocht Institute in Hamburg. In the early 1980s, he then took over the state vaccination center in West Berlin, which he expanded into the Institute of Tropical Medicine Berlin. His research focus was on malaria, leishmaniasis, and other tropical infections, on which he published works with renowned publishers and in scientific journals.

During the German AIDS epidemic, he pioneered AIDS research and patient care, helped establish self-help groups, promoted public education efforts, thereby taking a stance of tolerance rather than marginalization. For these efforts, he was later awarded Germany's highest honor, the Order of Merit.

He also initiated the master's degree program in International Health.

Bienzle was buried on April 4, 2008 at the cemetery in Berlin-Nikolassee.

Honors

 * 2005: Order of Merit 1st Class of the Federal Republic of Germany

Refernces

 * J. Westhoff, Ein Kämpfer gegen AIDS, Tagesspiegel, 20. März 2008 (german).
 * Institut für Tropenmedizin (german)
 * Ulrich Bienzle at ResearchGate https://www.researchgate.net/scientific-contributions/Ulrich-Bienzle-2120868100