Post by Max Salfinger, MD

Prof. Dr. Richard Urbanczik (1931-2026) Urbi, as he liked to be called, was born in Prague and passed away on June 3. He received his MD at the Masaryk University Medical School in Brno, Czech Republic and was a Professor at the Heidelberg University. He was a physician-scientist and director of the mycobacteriology research laboratory at the Fatol pharmaceutical company in Schiffweiler, Germany and a founding member of the German Working Group on Mycobacteria. He will be remembered as a tuberculosis laboratory expert with the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease and as a WHO Tuberculosis Laboratory Expert Group member, traveling worldwide to too many countries to count, to advise their National Tuberculosis Programs about tuberculosis laboratory services. He always stressed the importance of education, training, and evidence-based decision making when changing tuberculosis treatment protocols or processes in the laboratory. In 1981, I met Urbi at one of the German Working Group on Mycobacteria meetings, and a lifelong friendship developed. Rest in Peace, Urbi! #tubercolosis #InternationalUnionAgainstTuberculosisandLungDisease #TB #MycobacteriologyLaboratory