Dear Manns Family and colleagues

The news of the untimely passing of Prof. Michael Manns has filled me with deep sorrow.
Prof. Manns’ work in diverse fields of hepatology served as an inspiration to me as a young physician and researcher.
Over the years, I had the privilege of attending his insightful and enlightening lectures at conferences and occasionally engaged in conversation with him from time to time. What always struck me was his kindness, patience, and genuine curiosity toward every person and every subject. From this I learned that truly great individuals—and Michael was undoubtedly one of them—always maintain a healthy measure of humility, both regarding their stature and the knowledge they have accumulated.
The loss of Prof. Manns is an immense one for his family, his colleagues, and the many students he mentored over the years.
I hope we will find some comfort in his monumental contributions to the study of liver diseases, which will forever be remembered.

Dear Colleagues, Dear Manns Family,
Michael's sudden death has saddened us all deeply. I knew Michael for over 30 years. He was above all a remarkable man, discreet and very friendly. Over the years, he contributed to all advances in the field of hepatology, whether in relation to viruses or autoimmunity, but also in all other areas of hepatology.
His contribution to hepatology has been significant over the last 30 years, and he did so with simplicity and efficiency. He built a remarkable team in Hanover, whose excellence in hepatology is recognized worldwide.
He was also a warm man with whom we shared many moments of friendship and conviviality around the world. He will be greatly missed, and I offer my condolences to his family and colleagues.

Uns hat eine große Persönlichkeit, ein Visionär in Klinik und Wissenschaft, ein Gigant der internationalen Hepatologie und ein verlässlicher Freund und Kollege verlassen …. die Anteilnahme gilt seiner Familie. Seine Leistungen für die Wissenschaft machen ihn unsterblich.

Stefan Zeuzem
Dekan des Fachbereich Medizin der Goethe-Universität
Stv. Vorsitzender der Deutschen Leberstiftung

I was deeply saddened when I learned of Michael Manns' loss, a gigantic clinical and translational scientist in hepatology. All of a sudden the good memories of our time spent at Scripps Clinic in La Jolla surfaced to painfully remember what a wonderful and generous friend he was and the good time we had there sharing intense discussions in front of a cup of coffee in the Scripps' cafeteria and our free time with our families. The countless joyful anecdotes of that wonderful period can only attenuate the immense pain for his loss. He always used to say "When the dust will settle, we shall stand!", to pinpoint the useless controversies over unproven theories that occasionally characterize science.
I shall always treasure his kind and generous presentation during my EASL award presentation. The many images of our families together that he showed were the sweetest gift which I'll treasure forever. Michael was a lighthouse for me, an extraordinary example of physician scientist, a milestone in medicine both as an investigator and a unique mentor for generations of hepatologists. His legacy will remain in the history of hepatology.
Michael also enjoyed a wonderful family life in which Connie, the children and the grandchildren played a key role of love and support, contributing to his extraordinary career. My condolences goes to them in memory of a wonderful husband, father and grandfather, an incomparable friend for me.

I was deeply saddened when I learned of Michael Manns' loss, a gigantic clinical and translational scientist in hepatology. All of a sudden the good memories of our time spent at Scripps Clinic in La Jolla surfaced to painfully remember what a wonderful and generous friend he was and the good time we had there sharing intense discussions in front of a cup of coffee in the Scripps' cafeteria and our free time with our families. The countless joyful anecdotes of that wonderful period can only attenuate the immense pain for his loss. He always used to say "When the dust will settle, we shall stand!", to pinpoint the useless controversies over unproven theories that occasionally characterize science.
I shall always treasure his kind and generous presentation during my EASL award presentation. The many images of our families together that he showed were the sweetest gift which I'll treasure forever. Michael was a lighthouse for me, an extraordinary example of physician scientist, a milestone in medicine both as an investigator and a unique mentor for generations of hepatologists. His legacy will remain in the history of hepatology.
Michael also enjoyed a wonderful family life in which Connie, the children and the grandchildren played a key role of love and support, contributing to his extraordinary career. My condolences goes to them in memory of a wonderful husband, father and grandfather, an incomparable friend for me.

Mit großer Traurigkeit habe ich vom Tod von Prof. Manns erfahren. Mit der Einführung der ersten wirksamen HCV-Therapien im Jahr 2000 durfte ich 20 Jahre lang zahlreiche Kommunikations- und Public-Health-Projekte in der Hepatologie begleiten und Prof. Manns bei unzähligen Gelegenheiten erleben – auf Kongressen, bei HepNet-Symposien, in Arbeitskreisen wie zum Aktionsplan Virushepatitis, bei Aktivitäten der Deutschen Leberstiftung, der Deutschen Leberhilfe und vielem mehr. Besonders beeindruckt hat mich, dass er sich auch für die kleineren Meetings Zeit nahm, stets interessiert, aufmerksam und mit aufrichtigem Engagement.
Und so war Prof. Manns auch der Erste, dem ich am Rande einer Konferenz meine Leberkampagne vorgestellt habe – und er hat mich damals nachdrücklich motiviert und unterstützt.
Bei aller fachlichen Autorität war es seine menschliche Nähe, die mich besonders berührt hat. Das warme, zuversichtliche Blitzen in seinen Augen, das oft von feinem Schalk begleitet war, wird sicher vielen in lebendiger Erinnerung bleiben.
In dieser schweren Zeit möchte ich seiner Frau, seiner Familie und auch Herrn Prof. Cornberg, Herrn Prof. Wedemeyer und Frau Wiebner mein herzliches Mitgefühl aussprechen.

Simone Widhalm

Lieber Herr Manns,

mit großer Trauer musste ich zur Kenntnis nehmen, dass Sie nicht mehr unter uns sind.

Mit Dankbarkeit blicke ich auf fast drei Jahrzehnte einer intensiven Zusammenarbeit zunächst im Kompetenznetz Hepatitis und später in der deutschen Leberhilfe zurück. Als langjähriger früherer Vorsitzender des Vorstands der Deutschen Leberhilfe e.V. möchte ich auch in deren Namen kondolieren und mich bei Ihnen für die intensive und stetige Unterstützung der Patienteninteressen bedanken.

Ihre großen wissenschaftlichen Meriten und Ihre vorbildliche Unterstützung Ihrer Mitarbeitenden sind von vielen Menschen schon angemessen gewürdigt worden. Mir hat an Ihnen besonders imponiert, dass Sie immer bodenständig und nahbar geblieben sind und dass Sie bei allem Alltagsstress ein offenes Ohr für die Anliegen anderer Menschen hatten.

Mein Mitgefühl gilt im Besonderen Ihrer Frau und Familie, die stets das Zentrum Ihres Lebens waren.

It was a profound sense of loss to hear about the passing of Prof Michael Manns. I think many people did not know about his illness, so this news I am sure was all very sudden for many of us.

Prof Manns was a larger-than-life figure, who was always willing to talk to you no matter how junior you were to him, and always with a genuine smile and interest. He was the doyen of hepatology and was always willing to share his vast knowledge of field with others. Whichever meeting he went to, he was a star attraction usually speaking to full halls of attentive people.

In the later part of his career, he focused on hepatitis Delta and was instrumental in starting clinical trials for HDV as well as organizing forums such as the Hepatitis Delta International Network. He was the driving force behind HDIN, which brought together the HDV related community and started to spotlight an infection that had almost been forgotten in recent times. His fatherly and affectionate presence at these meeting will always be remembered and future HDIN forums will be incomplete without his presence.
May God bless his soul.

The passing of Prof. Manns is a tremendous loss to the global hepatology community. Even here in distant Asia, we deeply feel the sadness and sense of loss. It is hard to believe that his presence on stage at this year’s EASL meeting turned out to be our final farewell. Prof. Manns was such a warm and generous figure. His sincerity, optimism, and deep compassion for people, together with his lifelong dedication to liver disease—especially his leadership in building an outstanding team in Hannover and mentoring numerous internationally renowned talents—will ensure that his spirit and contributions endure for generations.

Michael Manns’ passing is an enormous loss for the global liver community. For all of us who have been lucky enough to meet him in person and have some level of collaboration with him, his innovative ideas, his passion for science, his social energy are going to be deeply missed.
For me, it was a enormous honor to have known Michael and to have the opportunity to have discussions and exchange ideas with him.
Being deeply saddened by his loss, I am sure Michael Manns will be always remembered not only by his family and his close friends and co-workers but by the hepatological community worldwide.