Walter Jakob Gehring. 20 March 1939—29 May 2014

Abstract

Walter Jakob Gehring was one of the most influential developmental biologists of the last 50 years. First as a student with Professor Ernst Hadorn in Zurich, later as a postdoc in Yale and finally as group leader in Basel, he was involved in a number of major discoveries that had a profound impact in the understanding of the genetic and molecular mechanisms of animal development, not only for the fruit fly Drosophila but for the whole animal kingdom. Throughout his career Gehring demonstrated an outstanding ability to recognize key problems and then to push experimental work on these problems with great energy. Gehring pioneered the application of molecular techniques to developmental problems, an approach that was at the root of many of his contributions. His laboratory was involved in a number of key findings: the first cloning of a Hox gene, the discovery of the homeobox, the enhancer trap method, and the remarkable conservation of features of the visual system in metazoans. He was an excellent speaker, with special ability to emphasize the relevant aspects of his work and to draw conclusions of general interest. This attracted a number of gifted students and postdocs who were key for the success of his research group. Passionately interested in science, he was also very excited about other scientific disciplines; he was an accomplished bird watcher and was also fascinated by marine life. But he also had non-scientific interests, too; he claimed to be an excellent football player and frequently commented that he had had to decide whether to be a scientist or a professional footballer. He decided on the former, but one wonders if he might have been a Swiss version of Messi or Ronaldo.