Obituary Prof. Dr Dr h.c. Peter Gängler
Witten/Herdecke University mourns the loss of its Emeritus Chair of Conservative Dentistry and Periodontology, former Dean of the Faculty of Dentistry, Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine and former Vice President for Research. Prof. Gängler, born on 30.10.1941 in Radebeul, passed away on 13 January 2025 at the age of 83, completely unexpectedly for all of us. Although he retired in 2008, Prof Gängler was a university lecturer with heart and soul until his last breath. Research and teaching were his passion.
Prof Gängler completed his studies in dentistry in St Petersburg in the former USSR in 1965 with excellent results. He then worked as a dentist in a dental outpatient clinic in Lutherstadt Wittenberge before moving to the Carl Gustav Carus Medical Academy in Dresden in 1966. There he began his academic career, which led him to a Dr med. dent. at the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology in 1967 and to his postdoctoral university lecturing qualification (Dr sc.) in the Department of Conservative Dentistry in 1975. In the same year, at the age of 34, he was appointed Professor and Director of the Department of Conservative Dentistry at the Erfurt Medical Academy.
Prof Gängler was president of the Society for Conservative Dentistry of the GDR from 1978 to 1987 and its vice president until its dissolution in 1990. He remained Director of the Department of Conservative Dentistry in Erfurt until 1992, when he was appointed Chair of Conservative Dentistry and Periodontology and Dean of Dentistry, Oral and Maxillofacial Medicine at Witten/Herdecke University. His main focus was on dental research, which he also established on an international level through his numerous scientific contacts in Israel, Sweden and the USA. From 2003 to 2005, Prof Gängler was also vice president for research at the UW/H. In 2004, he received an honorary doctorship from Ignatz Semmelweis University in Budapest.
When he retired in 2008, he remained loyal to dentistry and Witten/Herdecke University by founding the "Institute for Oral Medicine at the University of Witten/Herdecke (ORMED)", an associated independent institute of the university, together with his former student Dr Tomas Lang. After his retirement, he continued his scientific activities there, which are reflected in numerous publications. He was an active member of the UW/H Ethics Committee for many years and advised the scientific projects from the entire faculty with his high level of expertise and always critical eye until well after his retirement.
The promotion of young researchers was particularly close to his heart. Prof Gängler led a large number of young dentists to doctoral studies and postdoctoral university lecturing qualifications. At the time of his death, he was still supervising 12 doctoral students. They were something like his elixir of life. When he suffered a serious spinal injury in 2023 and was confined to his bed in hospital for a long time, unable to move, he even summoned his doctoral students to his bedside to exchange scientific ideas. After a long convalescence, he was finally able to work at his institute again and reported in retrospect that this intellectual exchange also kept him alive and gave him courage.
Social commitment was of great importance to Prof Gängler. He founded a dental support programme in Gambia and dental care for the homeless in Hagen in "Luther's launderette". His "Winter Academy" project has been very popular with students and lecturers in Studium fundamentale for many years.
The School of Dentistry, the Faculty of Health and, above all, a large number of young dentists have lost an approachable, energetic, always friendly and open-minded advisor, scientist and colleague whose memory we will honour. Our thoughts are with his dear wife Dr Sabine Gängler, his children and relatives.
Witten, 20 January 2025
For the Executive Board:
Martin Butzlaff Jan Peter Nonnenkamp Jan Ehlers Dirk Jakobs Petra Thürmann
For the faculty:
Margareta Halek Heike Schütter Stefan Zimmer