Wolf-Dieter Heiss

After training and initial work at the department of neurology of the University of Vienna followed several research appointments in the United States and in Sweden: He was habilitated into academic career (venia legendi) in 1970 and in 1976 was appointed as associated professor for neurology at the University of Vienna, where, until 1978, was head of the department of neuro-nuclear medicine.

With this methods he studied the ability of the brain to survive blood flow disturbances, which became the essential basis for the development of effective therapy of stroke, e. g. thrombolysis.

Further topics of research included various metabolic disturbances in brain tumors and in dementias, which improved diagnostic accuracy and treatment strategies, as well as patterns of functional activation in healthy controls and patients, which contributed to the understanding of deficits and of compensatory mechanisms.

Due to this initiative, the time from stroke onset to seeing and treating a patient, e.g. with thrombolysis could be significantly reduced in the service area of the Cologne Department of Neurology.

In 2008, he received in Vienna the "Leadership in Stoke Medicine Award" of the World Stroke Organization.