Alwin Knapp

Alwin Knapp (born October 26, 1918 in Dauborn ; † April 8, 1995 in Greifswald ) was a German dermatologist and human geneticist in Greifswald.

Life

Before joining the University of Greifswald, Knapp initially worked at the Dermatology Clinic at the University of Leipzig . He then headed the Department of Protein and Amino Acids at the Central Institute for Nutrition of the GDR in Potsdam , where he researched the hereditary disease phenylketonuria . He came to Greifswald in 1962 and became director of the dermatology clinic. From 1964 he also headed the Research Center for Medical Nutrition. In 1978 Alwin Knapp became director of the Institute for Medical Genetics, which was founded in the same year. During this time the university had already developed into a center for genetically caused metabolic defects. Clinical genetics courses had already been introduced beforehand. Falko Hermann succeeded Knapp as director in 1984. Knapp was a member of the Greifswald fraternity Rugia .

In Potsdam, Knapp developed a low-phenylalanine protein hydrolyzate with which the first partial successes in the treatment of phenylketonuria were achieved. The introduction of the screening for the hereditary disease phenylketonuria in 1969/70 in the former GDR goes back to Alwin Knapp. In addition, a permanent international forum for metabolism specialists within the Eastern Bloc was set up on his initiative .

Honors

For the construction of the system for collecting and care of phenylketonuria in East Germany Alwin Knapp, received Herbert parts , Klaus Schlenzka, Gerd Machill, Günther Cobet and an employee of the state-owned operation Berlin-Chemie in 1974 collectively the National Prize of East Germany II. Class.

literature

• Hans Reddemann , Günter Seidlitz: On the 100th birthday of the human geneticist and dermatologist Prof. Dr. med. Alwin Knapp . Medical journal Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania 10/2018, p. 405.

Web links

• Literature by and about Alwin Knapp in the catalog of the German National Library
• Literature about Alwin Knapp in the state bibliography MV

Individual evidence

1. ^ ^{A b c} Herbert Theile : Memories of 35 years of work at the University Children's Hospital in Leipzig (1959–1994): A completely subjective view. In: Wieland Kiess, Ortrun Riha , Eberhard Keller (eds.): 110 years of the university clinic and polyclinic for children and adolescents in Leipzig. Karger, Basel 2003, ISBN 3-8055-7501-7 , pp. 85-86 ( Google books ).
2. ↑ ^{a b c} Eckhard Oberdörfer: On the trail of hereditary diseases. In: Ostsee-Zeitung from August 20, 2009, ( online on the website of the University Hospital Greifswald ( Memento of the original from May 16, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to instructions and then remove this note. ), accessed on December 5, 2010.