(Vienna, 01.02.2024) The Institute of Clinical Biometry at the Center for Medical Data Science mourns the loss of Prof. Dr Harald Heinzl, who passed away on 29 January 2024.
Prof. Dr. Harald Heinzl was born in Lower Austria in 1965. He studied statistics at the Faculty of Social and Economic Sciences at the University of Vienna. In 1991, he took up a position as a university assistant at the Department of Clinical Biometry at the Institute of Medical Computer Science of the Medical Faculty of the University of Vienna, which was being established at the time, and has remained associated with the later Medical University ever since.
During this time, Prof. Harald Heinzl developed his expertise in statistical modelling, particularly in life span analyses, and wrote his dissertation on continuous variables in such models. He later worked on flexible modelling, explained variability and the validation of forecasting models. He habilitated in "Medical Statistics, Biometry and Epidemiology"; due to his many scientific achievements, he was awarded the professional title of university professor in 2014.
He had a particular passion for teaching, in which he also acted as block coordinator of Scientific Study Module 1 in the Human Medicine degree programme in 2020-22. In addition, he was involved as a lecturer in medical studies, medical informatics and doctoral studies.
In the course of his career, research visits have taken him to Reading, United Kingdom, to Heidelberg, Germany, and to the European Medicines Agency in London, where he held the position of biostatistical expert. In addition to his methodological work in biostatistics, he also provided his expertise in many collaborative studies, particularly in hepatology, gynaecology and neuroscience. As an experienced biostatistician, he was a member of the intra-university animal experimentation committee and the ethics committee of the City of Vienna. His scientific legacy includes more than 150 peer-reviewed journal articles, many of which have been cited several hundred times, and several book chapters.
It is with deep sadness that we bid farewell to a valued colleague and recognised expert in the field of biostatistics. Our sympathy goes especially to his family in these difficult days.
Univ.-Prof. Dr.rer.nat. Martin Posch, Head of the Centre for Medical Data Science, and Ao. Prof. Dr Georg Heinze, Head of the Institute of Clinical Biometry, on behalf of all current and former employees