Hedi Fritz-Niggli

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Hedi Fritz-Niggli (born October 22, 1921 , in Zurich ; † May 31, 2005 , ibid) was a Swiss radiation biologist . She is considered the founder of radiation biology in Switzerland.

Life

Hedwig Fritz-Niggli was the daughter of Paul Niggli and Hedwig Niggli née Dübendorfer and the sister of the mineralogist Ernst Niggli . She studied biology and medicine at the University of Zurich , where she received her doctorate in 1946. In 1950 she began setting up the first radiobiological laboratory at the Central Radiological Institute of the Zurich Cantonal Hospital on behalf of the Zurich radiologist Hans Rudolf Schinz (1891-1941) .

In 1952 she qualified as a professor at the University of Zurich and was appointed adjunct professor in 1958. In 1963 the radiation biology laboratory was converted into an independent institute for radiation biology and Fritz-Niggli was elected head of the institute and extraordinary at the medical faculty. In 1964 she founded the Swiss Society for Radiation Biology and served as its first president. From 1969 to 1976 she was the first woman to be a member of the Swiss Science Council . Promoted to Ordinaria in 1970, she headed the institute until her retirement in 1989. In 1968 and 1984 she was President of the European Society for Radiation Biology .

In 1996, the Zurich government council decided to drop the field of ionizing radiation at the Radiation Biology Institute. The only Swiss center for radiation biology was lost.

plant

Hedi Fritz-Niggli worked in radiation biology research for over 40 years and trained numerous physicians and biologists. Fritz-Niggli and her colleague Christian Michel pointed out damage caused by low doses of radiation, especially in the unborn child and in the sensitive developmental phase of living things. In their examinations with "loosely ionizing" X-rays, they found various malformations at a dose of 10 m Sv . She wrote over 250 scientific articles in specialist journals and the daily press, four textbooks and standard works on radiation biology that are still valid today. She was a sought-after expert in specialist committees and commissions.

Awards and memberships

She has been honored with numerous awards at home and abroad for her commitment to radiation research:

  • 1962 member of the German Society for Biophysics
  • 1964 Founding President of the Swiss Society for Radiation Biology (SGS), from which the Swiss Society for Radiation Biology and Medical Physics later emerged
  • 1965 member of the Leopoldina
  • 1967 Literature Prize of the City of Zurich for her NZZ article
  • 1992 Hanns Langendorff Medal
  • 1981 Honorary membership of the Swiss Society for Radiology and Nuclear Medicine for her outstanding services in promoting radiation biology in Switzerland and worldwide , honorary membership of the Swiss Society for Radiation Biology and Radiation Physics , which later became the Swiss Society for Radiation Biology and Medical Physics
  • 2014 Hedi-Fritz-Niggli, who was the only female medical professor in Zurich between 1970 and 1990, gave its name to the Hedi-Fritz-Niggli visiting professorship , which was set up to increase the number of excellent visiting professors at the University of Zurich

Publications (selection)

  • Radiation biology. Basics and results . Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart 1959
  • Radiation and weather . In: Handbook of General Pathology. Springer Verlag, Berlin 1960
  • Heredity in humans and animals. An introduction to genetics . Thieme Verlag, Stuttgart 1961
  • Radiation effect and environment . Urban & Schwarzenberg, Munich 1962
  • Secret script of biology. Nymphenburger Verlagshandlung, Munich 1967
  • Radiation hazard, radiation protection: a practical guide . Huber Verlag, Bern, Stuttgart, Vienna 1975, ISBN 3-456-80135-1
  • Biomedical basics on the possible health risks of the Swiss after Chernobyl . General Assembly of the Swiss Energy Forum, Bern, June 19, 1986, Swiss Energy Forum, Bern 1986
  • The importance of radiobiological research for radiation therapy. In: Friedrich-Ernst Stieve: 70th Institute for Radiation Hygiene of the Federal Health Office. Alexander Kaul (Ed.), Institute for Radiation Hygiene , Neuherberg near Munich, 1986, ISBN 3-924403-82-1
  • Radiation hazard, radiation protection: a practical guide. Verlag Huber, Bern, Göttingen, Toronto, Seattle 1997, ISBN 3-456-82830-6
  • Monika Amos (pseudonym of Hedi Fritz-Niggli), Der strahlende Tod , (detective novel) Rothenhäusler Verlag 1997. ISBN 3-907960-91-2

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ University of Zurich: curriculum vitae of Hedi Fritz-Niggli
  2. ↑ Swiss Society for Radiation Biology and Medical Physics: Hedi-Fritz Niggli
  3. ↑ Anniversary brochure - Publication de jubilé - Anniversary publication 1964–2014, Swiss Society for Radiation Biology and Medical Physics (SGSMP, SSRMP, SSRFM), October 2014, ISBN 3-908125-55-3
personal data
SURNAME Fritz-Niggli, Hedi
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss radiation biologist, founder of radiation biology in Switzerland
DATE OF BIRTH October 22, 1921
DATE OF DEATH May 31, 2005