It is with great sadness that we say goodbye to Prof. Dr. Michael Micksche, a personality who shaped and led the Institute of Cancer Research at the Medical University of Vienna for many years, not only professionally but also personally.
Prof. Micksche was an enthusiastic physician and cancer researcher. He had been a university professor of applied and experimental oncology at the Medical University of Vienna since 1994 and played a central role in founding Cancer Aid Vienna, which he led with great personal commitment until 2025. He was the author of numerous scientific publications and was one of the first to conduct studies on the failure of the immune system, particularly in melanoma, or black skin cancer. Throughout his research career, he never lost his conviction that immunotherapy against cancer must be possible. The great success of this therapy today – especially in melanoma – was a source of particular satisfaction for him and an impressive confirmation of his decades of scientific work.
For many years, Prof. Micksche was a formative figure at the Medical University of Vienna and, in particular, at the Institute for Cancer Research, which he headed from 2004 to 2010 with great commitment and personal dedication. Together with Prof. Zielinski and Prof. Jäger, he launched the Cancer Research Initiative in 2005. With its annual cancer research run, this initiative has developed over the years into one of the most important and valued meeting places for numerous supporters of cancer research. Thanks to the proceeds from the cancer research run, numerous research projects by young scientists have been funded in recent years.
For many of us, Prof. Micksche was much more than just the head of an institute: he was a colleague, teacher and mentor who generously shared his knowledge and whose door was always open. His interest in people – students and colleagues alike – was sincere and palpable. Humanity, respect and a sense of responsibility were not just buzzwords for him, but an attitude he lived by in everyday university life. Colleagues valued him as a person of integrity, intelligence and reliability, while students saw him as an inspiring teacher and mentor. Those who had the privilege of working with him experienced his calm manner, his modesty, his clarity of thought and his subtle humour. His commitment to the Institute of Cancer Research was always characterised by loyalty, vision, personal dedication and scientific and medical enthusiasm.
With Prof. Dr. Michael Micksche, we have lost a valued colleague and a special person who was a great role model to us through his attitude, collegiality and humanity. His spirit, his values and his way of interacting with others will live on at the Medical University of Vienna.
Our thoughts and deepest sympathy go out to his family and all those who were close to him.
We will miss Prof. Dr. Michael Micksche.
Univ. Prof. Dr. Maria Sibilia and Univ. Prof. Dr. Walter Berger
on behalf of all employees of the Centre for Cancer Research
