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Visit of Professor Hans-Hartmut Peter, Foreign Member of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, in Lithuania

21 06 2023

On 13 June 2023, the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, together with the Lithuanian Society for Immunology, organised the scientific conference ‘Current Achievements in Immunology’. One of the participants in the conference was Professor Hans-Hartmut Peter, a foreign member of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, an honorary member of the Lithuanian Society for Immunology, and former president of the German Society for Immunology. He spoke about IgG4-related diseases.

Left to right, Aurelija Žvirblienė, H. H. Peter, Limas Kupčinskas, Zenonas Dabkevičius, Stasys Gendvilis

Other presentations were given by Prof. Laura Malinauskienė of Vilnius University and Goda Filipavičienė, MD, from the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences. At the informal discussion with Prof. Peter after the conference, the participants remembered that Prof. Peter, together with other German immunologists and Prof. Vytas AntanasTamošiūnas, the former President of the Lithuanian Society for Immunology, organised a series of international events that significantly contributed to the development of immunology research in Lithuania in the first years after restoring its independence (1992–2005). In 1998–2002, Prof. H.H. Peter was the president of the German Society for Immunology. Since 1999, he is a foreign member of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences and since 2005, an honorary member of the Lithuanian Society for Immunology.

Members of the Lithuanian Society for Immunology

The collaboration of Prof. Peter with Lithuanian immunologists has lasted for many years: he visited clinics of Vilnius and Kaunas universities and provided consultations to patients. Moreover, he opened the possibilities for Lithuanian immunologists to visit clinical and medical centres in Germany for improving their qualification or starting collaboration with German immunologists. At the initiative of Prof. Peter and other German immunologists, four international summer schools of immunology and one conference were organized in Lithuania between 1992 and 2005 and two international summer schools in Latvia and Estonia.  In each of these events, lectures were given by 15-20 German immunologists.

Right to left, Laura Malinauskienė, Goda Filipauskienė, A. E. Janulaitis, Vilmantė Borutaitė, Vytautas Basys, V. A.Tamošiūnas, Algirdas Skirkevičius

During the informal discussion after the conference, Prof. V.A. Tamošiūnas presented Prof. Peter with his autobiographical book and the work by the famous Vilnius University professor of XIX century Andrius (Jędrzej) Sniadecki Theory of Organic Beings. Prof. Stasys Gendvilis, a former member of the Lithuanian Society for Immunology, also shared his memories: he has a long-standing personal relation with Prof. Peter and contributed to the organisation of his current visit. 

Prof. H.H. Peter and his wife spent over a week in Lithuania: they visited Vilnius and also made a trip to Nida.  Prof. H.H Peter noticed significant changes in Lithuania during the last twenty years. He not only remembered the joint events organised by German and Baltic societies for immunology, but was also interested in current international activities of Lithuanian scientists. He encouraged their efforts to establish closer collaboration with Estonian, Latvian, Polish, and German immunologists.

Prof. Aurelija Žvirblienė
Full member of the Lithuanian Academy of Sciences
President of the Lithuanian Society for Immunology

Gallery of pictures from the conference ‘Current Achievements in Immunology’