Prof. Dr. Jochen Taupitz has been conferred the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany by State Secretary Petra Olschowski. She commended his social commitment to the advancement of medicine.
“Professor Taupitz is an outstanding individual whose social commitment to the advancement of medicine far exceeds the norm. With his composed attitude, he contributes to the fields of science and medicine as an advocate for science-based questions and ethical arguments. At the same time, he succeeds in rendering complex notions comprehensible so that all are able to contribute to the discussion, and the groundwork is laid for responsible opinion forming and decision-making,” emphasised State Secretary Petra Olschowski during presentation of the Order of Merit in Mannheim.
Professor Dr. Jochen Taupitz studied law at the universities of Göttingen and Freiburg. After completing his doctorate and the second state examination in law, he obtained his Habilitation in 1988. Initially appointed as a full professor in Göttingen, Taupitz subsequently switched to the University of Mannheim in the winter semester 1989/90. He has researched and taught there ever since. In 1998, Taupitz became the managing director of the Institute for German, European and International Medical Law, Public Health Law and Bioethics (IMGB) that was established jointly by Heidelberg University and the University of Mannheim. He was appointed to the interdisciplinary German Ethics Council (formerly known as the National Ethics Council) in 2001. From 2012, Taupitz acted as the council’s deputy chairman. Between 2011 and 2016, Taupitz was one of the 17 experts on the national AIDS advisory board.
Prof. Dr. Jochen Taupitz is also a member of the board of the Permanent Working Party of Research Ethics Committees in Germany (AK-EK) as well as the Scientific and Ethical Advisory Board of the German Biobank Node (GBN). View our interview with him on incidental findings from medical research.