Hinrich Bitter-Suermann (born March 10, 1940) is a German-Canadian

pathologist Pathology is the study of the causes and effects of disease or injury. The word ''pathology'' also refers to the study of disease in general, incorporating a wide range of biology research fields and medical practices. However, when used in t ...

and

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

of surgery specialized in

organ transplantation Organ transplantation is a medical procedure in which an organ is removed from one body and placed in the body of a recipient, to replace a damaged or missing organ. The donor and recipient may be at the same location, or organs may be transpor ...

Education

Bitter-Suermann studied 1959-1965

medicine Medicine is the science and practice of caring for a patient, managing the diagnosis, prognosis, prevention, treatment, palliation of their injury or disease, and promoting their health. Medicine encompasses a variety of health care pr ...

and sciences at Würzburg University,

Göttingen University Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the capital of the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, the population was 118,911. General information The o ...

and

Kiel University Kiel University, officially the Christian-Albrecht University of Kiel, (german: Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in ...

. In Würzburg he became a member of the

German Student Corps Corps (or Korps; "''das ~''" ('' n''), (''sg.''), (''pl.'')) are the oldest still-existing kind of '' Studentenverbindung'', Germany's traditional university corporations; their roots date back to the 15th century. The oldest corps still exist ...

''Nassovia'' and in Göttingen he joined the Corps Hannovera (1960). In 1965 he accomplished his studies and summa cum laude graduated Dr. med. in Göttingen.

Career

Bitter-Suermann had his clinical education in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and Sweden, i. e. in

Kiel Kiel () is the capital and most populous city in the northern German state of Schleswig-Holstein, with a population of 246,243 (2021). Kiel lies approximately north of Hamburg. Due to its geographic location in the southeast of the Jutland ...

, Kiruna and Haparanda. From 1971–1973 he worked at

Addenbrooke's Hospital Addenbrooke's Hospital is an internationally renowned large teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge, England, with strong affiliations to the University of Cambridge. Addenbrooke's Hospital is based on the Cambridge Biomedical Camp ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

, as Honorary Senior Registrar and Transplant Fellow under Sir

Roy Yorke Calne Sir Roy Yorke Calne, FRCP, FRCS, FRS (born 30 December 1930) is a British surgeon and pioneer in organ transplantation. Career His most notable achievements are the world's first liver, heart, and lung transplant together with John Wallwork ...

. His research interests focused on induction of transplantation tolerance by spleen transplants in rats and the preservation of pig liver transplants. He returned to Sweden and in 1974 joined the Department of Surgery,

Sahlgrenska University Hospital The Sahlgrenska University Hospital ( Swedish: ''Sahlgrenska Universitetssjukhuset'') is a hospital network associated with the Sahlgrenska Academy at the University of Gothenburg in Gothenburg, Sweden. With 17,000 employees the hospital is the ...

, headed by Lars-Erik Gelin. In 1975 the

Gothenburg University The University of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs universitet) is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and with 37,000 students and 6000 s ...

granted him the

Ph.D. A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields. Because it is ...

and made him "Docent" in transplant surgery. Funded by the Swedish Cancer Society, Bitter-Suermann in 1976–77 was Visiting Scientist to the Cancer Research Unit,

McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous ...

, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He performed research in spleen grafts versus chemically induced tumours in rats. From 1977 through 1982 he was staff of the Department of Pathology,

Georgetown University Georgetown University is a private university, private research university in the Georgetown (Washington, D.C.), Georgetown neighborhood of Washington, D.C. Founded by Bishop John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore), John Carroll in 1789 as Georg ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Supported by the

National Institutes of Health The National Institutes of Health, commonly referred to as NIH (with each letter pronounced individually), is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for biomedical and public health research. It was founded in the late ...

he studied the mechanisms of spleen graft induced transplantation tolerance in guinea pigs, and islet transplantation in rats. At the same time he collaborated with Ethan M.Shevach as visiting scientist at the

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID, ) is one of the 27 institutes and centers that make up the National Institutes of Health (NIH), an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). NIAID's ...

(NIAID),

Bethesda, Maryland Bethesda () is an unincorporated, census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland. It is located just northwest of Washington, D.C. It takes its name from a local church, the Bethesda Meeting House (1820, rebuilt 1849), which in ...

. In 1977 he was appointed associate professor and in 1981

of Georgetown University. He left

in 1982 to become Professor of Surgery and Director of the Liver Transplant Program at Dalhousie University, Halifax,

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

, Canada. At the

Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre Queen Elizabeth II Health Sciences Centre, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, is a large teaching hospital and Level 1 Trauma Centre affiliated with Dalhousie University. The QEII cares for adult patients. Pediatric patients within the region are c ...

and I.W.K. Hospital for Children he engaged himself for 24 years in kidney, liver and pancreas transplantation. He initiated successfully the Liver Transplant Program for Atlantic Canada, then Canada's third program. After forty years abroad he returned to Germany to assume the position of Director of Dialysis Surgery, Department of Surgery, Heidelberg University at Mannheim Medical School. In 2012, Robert-Bosch-Krankenhaus, Stuttgart, appointed him Director of the Shunt-Surgery Center.In 2019 he was appointed Head of the Shunt Surgery Center at the Helios Hospital, Blankenhain,Thuringia.

Political career

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, Bitter-Suermann was elected to the

Nova Scotia House of Assembly The Nova Scotia House of Assembly (french: Assemblée législative de la Nouvelle-Écosse; gd, Taigh Seanaidh Alba Nuadh), or Legislative Assembly, is the deliberative assembly of the General Assembly of Nova Scotia of the province of Nova Scotia ...

, defeating Liberal cabinet minister

Jim Barkhouse James Alfred Barkhouse (born May 3, 1940) is a former hardware store owner and political figure in Nova Scotia, Canada. He represented Lunenburg East and then Chester-St. Margaret's in the Nova Scotia House of Assembly from 1984 to 1998 as a No ...

by 110 votes in the

Chester-St. Margaret's Chester—St. Margaret's is a provincial electoral district in Nova Scotia, Canada, that elects one member of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly. It is located on the South Shore. The constituency was created in 1956 as a division of Lunenbur ...

riding. Elected as a member of the Progressive Conservatives, Bitter-Suermann broke party ranks in June 1998 to vote against the Liberals minority government budget. In October, he quit the Progressive Conservative caucus to sit as an independent member, before crossing the floor in November to join the

Nova Scotia New Democratic Party The Nova Scotia New Democratic Party is a social-democratic, progressive provincial party in Nova Scotia, Canada. It is the provincial entity of the federal New Democratic Party (NDP). It was founded as the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (C ...

. He ran for re-election in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, but was defeated by Progressive Conservative John Chataway. On March 31, 2000, Bitter-Suermann announced his candidacy for the

leadership Leadership, both as a research area and as a practical skill, encompasses the ability of an individual, group or organization to "lead", influence or guide other individuals, teams, or entire organizations. The word "leadership" often gets vi ...

of the Nova Scotia New Democratic Party. At the July 2000 convention, Bitter-Suermann finished last on the first ballot with 31 votes. Bitter-Suermann ran again in the 2003 election, but lost to Chataway by 39 votes. Following Chataway's death in December 2004, Bitter-Suermann was nominated as the NDP candidate for the byelection to replace him. On June 21, 2005, Bitter-Suerman finished third in the byelection, losing to Progressive Conservative candidate

Judy Streatch Judy Streatch (born October 6, 1966) is a Canadian politician, who was a Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Chester-St. Margaret's in Nova Scotia from 2005 to 2009. A schoolteacher by career, Streatch was educated at Saint Mary's U ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bitter-Suermann, Hinrich Canadian transplant surgeons Georgetown University Medical Center faculty Academic staff of the Dalhousie University Academic staff of Heidelberg University Progressive Conservative Association of Nova Scotia MLAs Nova Scotia New Democratic Party MLAs German emigrants to Canada University of Würzburg alumni University of Göttingen alumni University of Kiel alumni University of Gothenburg alumni 1940 births Living people