Markus Büchler

Early life

Büchler was born in Saarlouis, Saar Protectorate (nowadays Saarland federated state in south-west Germany) to Eugene Büchler, a medical internist, and his wife Erika. He spent his school years in Dillingen and in the catholic boarding school Lender in Sasbach.

Medical career

From 1974 to 1979, Büchler studied medicine at the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg. Subsequently, he trained in general and cardiovascular surgery at the Free University of Berlin, where, upon completion of the training in 1980, he obtained the medical license. In the same year he defended his doctoral thesis and received the Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Heidelberg. He further specialised in surgery at the University of Ulm, where he qualified for habilitation and was appointed an attending surgeon in 1987. In 1991 he became associate professor and the vice chairman of the Department of Surgery at the university. In 1993, Büchler moved to Switzerland where he became professor of surgery and chairman of the Department of Visceral and Transplantation Surgery at the University of Bern, Inselspital. In 1999 he also headed the Department of Gastrointestinal, Liver and Lung Diseases. Since 2001 he is professor of surgery and chairman of the Department of General, Visceral and Transplantation Surgery at the University Hospital Heidelberg. Since 2003 he is managing medical director of the Department of Surgery at the university. In parallel, he heads the Departments of Surgery at Salem hospital in Heidelberg since 2005, at the General Hospital in Sinsheim since 2009, at the General Hospital in Eberbach since 2012, and at the General Hospital in Heppenheim since 2013.

Practical and research activities

Büchler's specialty is surgery of the gastrointestinal tract, hepatobiliary system, and organ transplantation. In particular he specializes in surgical treatment of pancreatic cancer and chronic pancreatitis. At his initiative, the European Pancreas Center was established at the Heidelberg university hospital.

Büchler's clinical and laboratory studies have resulted in over 1000 publications. He also acts as an editor and a member of editorial boards of international medical journals.

Academic honors

Markus Büchler was elected president of the Swiss Society for Visceral Surgery in 1999 and 2000, vice-president of the Swiss Surgical Society in 2000, president of the European Pancreatic Club in 2002, president of the International Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary Association (IHPBA, 2006–2008), chairman of the German Society for General and Visceral Surgery (DGAV) for the 2010-2011 period and president of the German Surgical Society of Surgery (DGCH) in 2012.

Since 2009 Markus Büchler is a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina.

Büchler has been awarded the degree of a Honorary Professor by the Railway Medical College of Nanjing, PR China, by the Southeast University of Nanjing, PR China, by the Huazhong University of Science and Technology in Wuhan, China, by the University of the Republic in Montevideo, Uruguay and by the Nanjing Medical University; PR China. He has been awarded a honorary medical doctorate by the Iuliu Hațieganu University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Cluj-Napoca, the Vasile Goldiş West University in Arad, Romania, the University of Belgrade, Serbia, the Belarusian Medical Academy of Post-Graduate Education in Minsk, and by Vilnius University, Lithuania.

Awards (selection)

Family

Büchler is married with Hedwig Maria Breunig-Büchler and has four children.