Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit

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Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit

Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit (born March 25, 1979 in Berlin-Pankow ) is a German virologist and professor at the University of Hamburg .

Live and act

After graduating from the Erich Fried Gymnasium in Berlin-Friedrichshain Schmidt-Chanasit studied between 2000 and 2006 Human Medicine at the Charité in Berlin and in 2006 with a thesis on serological development and validation of test methods for the detection of imported hantavirus infections to Dr. med. PhD. While working on the dissertation, he was a visiting scholar at the Kasetsart University in Bangkok . He then worked as a postdoctoral fellow under Hans Wilhelm Doerr at the Institute for Medical Virology at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main, where he completed his habilitation in virology in 2010. Since 2010, he and Stephan Günther have headed the WHO Cooperation Center for Arboviruses and Hemorrhagic Fever Viruses at the Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in Hamburg. After having been appointed to the universities of Greifswald and Frankfurt am Main, he has held the chair for arbovirology at the University of Hamburg since 2018 . Schmidt-Chanasit is the author or co-author of more than 200 scientific publications.

Schmidt-Chanasit became known to the general public through numerous radio broadcasts and TV appearances, in which he explained infectiological issues in a generally understandable manner.

Schmidt-Chanasit is married, has one son and lives with his family in Berlin and Bangkok.

Research priorities

The research groups headed by Schmidt-Chanasit deal with emerging and re-emerging viruses (e.g. Ebola virus , Borna virus , Zika virus , Chikungunya virus or Usutu virus ). One focus is on the viruses (arboviruses) transmitted by mosquitoes. In particular, the interaction between arboviruses and their vectors and how this influences virus evolution is investigated. In addition, models are being developed in the research groups to better predict arbovirus epidemics.

Media presence

During significant health crises (e.g. local outbreaks of pathogens, epidemics) at home and abroad, the virologist is repeatedly asked to speak in the German media : after the Ebola epidemic began in West Africa in 2014, for example, he arranged the risk of spread for Europe in an interview with Deutsche Welle: The danger that the Ebola virus, similar to the flu virus, could spread across continents did not exist in his opinion at the time: “The disease is much more serious than that of influenza. Sick people are noticed very quickly because they have severe symptoms. ”In an interview with tagesschau.de, Schmidt-Chanasit also gave an assessment of the status of Ebola vaccine development: There is progress, but the vaccine for the current epidemic is too late. In general, the risk of infection from newly imported viruses that can be transmitted to humans is increasing, "because humans come into ever greater contact with wild animals that can transmit such viruses to humans."

In the run-up to the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, Schmidt-Chanasit advised fans not to linger too long at the venues of the German national team in northeastern Brazil to protect themselves against dengue fever : Due to the drought in that year, the annual dengue fever season was in The World Cup period postponed, the expert warned.

When the World Health Organization (WHO) declared a global health emergency in Brazil before the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro due to increased Zika virus infections , Schmidt-Chanasit assessed the situation and spoke out against canceling the event. On Deutschlandfunk, he warned in January 2016 that it was quite conceivable in late summer that travelers returning to Germany could bring the virus to Germany, but there would be no major outbreak like in South America.

Even during the corona crisis in 2020 , the virologist is a frequent conversation partner of the German media : According to the virologist, a vaccine that could be used to stop the pandemic will no longer be available in 2020. Medicines could be available “much faster” if some medicines that are already approved for the treatment of other diseases are found that are also effective against the new coronavirus. As long as there is a lack of drugs and vaccines, there would be a "slow contamination of the population". "One hundred percent protection is of no use to anyone," he said in a television interview at the end of March 2020. Instead, infections would have to take place at a pace that the German health system could tolerate. However, people at risk must be specially protected.

At the end of March 2020, Schmidt-Chanasit was still critical of a nationwide general mask requirement in Germany: There was no scientific evidence of its effectiveness. The virologist also expressed concern that masks could distract many wearers from "important measures such as hygiene and keeping their distance". As long as hospitals, medical practices and care facilities cannot be adequately supplied with masks, a discussion about the general, nationwide mask requirement is "misguided", he criticized. At the end of April, he said in a radio interview on the same subject that masks are not a panacea in the fight against infections, but additional aids. Their use makes sense where the distance rules cannot be observed. Measures such as following the hygiene rules and keeping your distance cannot replace wearing a mask.

Awards and honors

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Biography of Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit. In: Körber Foundation. Körber Foundation, October 17, 2012, accessed on September 25, 2018 .
  2. ^ Institute for Medical Virology: Publication Directory 2010. Clinic of the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, January 2, 2011, archived from the original on October 25, 2018 ; accessed on October 25, 2018 .
  3. ↑ WHOCC - WHO Collaborating Centers. World Health Organization (WHO), December 23, 2016, accessed on September 12, 2018 .
  4. ↑ Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. Dr.med.habil. Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit: Lecturer / doctoral procedure: University of Hamburg. Department of Biology at the University of Hamburg, accessed on September 25, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit. In: Google Scholar. Retrieved September 21, 2018 .
  6. ↑ schmidt-chanasit - Google search. Retrieved October 25, 2018 (de-US).
  7. ↑ https://www.welt.de/welt_print/vermischtes/hamburg/article7463215/Grosser-Erffekt-fuer-Hamburger-Muecken-Forscher.html
  8. ↑ Working Group Schmidt-Chanasit. Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine - Public Law Foundation, accessed on September 12, 2018 (English).
  9. ↑ The Corona crisis: where do we stand, what's next? In: ARD on the Internet. March 17, 2020, accessed March 19, 2020 .
  10. ^ A b Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): Schmidt-Chanasit: "The virus is too aggressive for a pandemic" | DW | 04/14/2014. Accessed April 29, 2020 (German).
  11. ↑ a b tagesschau.de: Interview: "Ebola vaccine no help for current epidemic". Retrieved April 29, 2020 .
  12. ↑ a b Zika virus - "We can also transmit transmissions". Accessed April 29, 2020 (German).
  13. ↑ Irene Berres, DER SPIEGEL: Football World Cup and Dengue Fever: Risk in Brazil - DER SPIEGEL - Health. Retrieved April 29, 2020 .
  14. ↑ a b Zika viruses: What concerns are justified? | German Center for Infection Research. Retrieved April 29, 2020 .
  15. ^ Deutsche Welle (www.dw.com): Zika virus: "Don't cancel the Olympics" | DW | 05/28/2016. Accessed April 29, 2020 (German).
  16. ↑ a b c d e f General mask requirement: “A misguided discussion”. In: tagesschau.de. April 1, 2020, accessed April 29, 2020 .
  17. ↑ a b "Then medication could be available immediately". n-tv, March 4, 2020, accessed on April 29, 2020 .
  18. ↑ a b Virologist Jonas Schmidt-Chanasit - “Proceed with a sense of proportion with the mask”. Deutschlandfunk, April 21, 2020, accessed on April 29, 2020 .
  19. ↑ a b Ursula Weidenfeld, Marc Krüger: One property makes the virus “absolutely dangerous”. In: t-online.de. April 22, 2020, accessed April 29, 2020 .
  20. ↑ Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin: Annual study at the Institute for Virology. In: Institute for Virology at the Charité. Detlev Krüger, February 1, 2006, p. 39 , accessed on September 12, 2018 (PDF).
  21. ↑ Science Award Clinical Virology The DVV And GER. Society for Virology eV, accessed on October 8, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME Schmidt-Chanasit, Jonas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Schmidt, Jonas
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German virologist and professor at the University of Hamburg
DATE OF BIRTH March 25, 1979
PLACE OF BIRTH Berlin-Pankow