Dear colleagues,
It is with great sadness that we bid farewell to our highly esteemed colleague, mentor, and friend, Prof. Cornelis (Karel) Jakobs. Cornelis passed away peacefully on October 11, 2026, following a hospital stay in Amsterdam. During his time in the hospital, he was able to personally say goodbye to friends, colleagues, neighbors, and family, which meant a great deal to him.
For many years, Cornelis headed the renowned Laboratory for Genetic Metabolic Diseases in the Department of Clinical Chemistry at the VU Medical Center in Amsterdam and was one of the world’s leading experts in the field of inborn errors of metabolism.
Cornelis was very actively involved in numerous metabolic professional societies. These included, in particular, the SSIEM and the ESN, which he chaired for many years. However, Cornelis also worked in Berlin for a time and was a long-standing member and ultimately an honorary member of the GfAS (formerly APS). Cornelis was networked throughout the world and initiated many successful (inter)national scientific collaborations. He was a successful scientist and teacher, and a great role model for many of us. His work resulted in many close friendships that have significantly inspired (inter)national cooperation in the field of metabolic research to this day.
We will remember Cornelis as a strong and active member of our society and our metabolic community.
Our thoughts are with his family, especially his daughter Nadja.
Ute Spiekerkötter and Johannes Häberle
on behalf of the entire GfAS
