On July 8, 2024, Prof. Dr. Eberhard Mönch passed away at the age of 86.
After studying human medicine in Halle/S. Eberhard Mönch worked for three years at the Physiological Institutes of the Universities of Halle/S. and Berlin (FU). From 1967 onwards, he completed his training as a pediatrician at the Kaiserin Auguste-Victoria-Haus of the University Children’s Hospital of FU Berlin. Even as a young resident, he focused on congenital metabolic disorders. As early as 1972, he completed his habilitation on “Mass Screening Tests for the Early Detection of Congenital Metabolic Disorders” and was appointed Professor at the Children’s Hospital of the Free University of Berlin in 1974. Concurrently, he was entrusted with the leadership of the metabolic outpatient clinic and the hospital laboratory, and from 1978, also the leadership of the laboratory for newborn screening for congenital metabolic disorders for the state of Berlin, and from 1991 additionally for the state of Brandenburg. With the merger of the Berlin university children’s hospitals after reunification, Eberhard Mönch led the metabolic outpatient clinic, the metabolic laboratory, and the laboratory for newborn screening for congenital metabolic disorders at Charité Berlin until 2003.
Eberhard Mönch was continuously involved with newborn screening from an early stage. His constant concern was always to be able to identify and treat as many patients as possible in a timely manner through newborn screening. Examples of this included the establishment of urine screening for cystinuria and alkaptonuria in Berlin, as well as his strong commitment to including Tyrosinemia Type I in expanded newborn screening. Every Saturday morning, he drove to the screening laboratory to read the thin-layer chromatography plates (used, among other things, for MSUD detection) that were then used in Berlin for newborn screening. Later, he strongly advocated for the introduction of tandem mass spectrometry into newborn screening.
After reunification, collaboration and mutual exchange with colleagues from the new federal states was an extremely important concern for Eberhard Mönch. For this purpose, he organized regular metabolic colloquia in Berlin, to which colleagues, especially from the former GDR, traveled many kilometers on Saturday mornings.
Scientific exchange with other countries always held a very high priority for Eberhard Mönch. In the early 1980s, he worked as a visiting lecturer at the Cerrahpasa Faculty of Istanbul University and established long-standing cooperation with various metabolic centers in Turkey. He also established long-standing and very successful collaborations with other countries, such as Estonia and Russia.
Patients were always at the heart of Eberhard Mönch’s work. A major concern for him were the educational camps for children and adolescents with Phenylketonuria (PKU) and other congenital metabolic disorders, which he organized and accompanied with great and enduring passion for several decades.
Eberhard Mönch recognized the problem of transition for patients with metabolic diseases early on, and thus, from 2003, he was significantly involved in establishing the outpatient clinic for adult patients with congenital metabolic disorders at the Interdisciplinary Metabolic Center in the Department of Internal Medicine at Charité Berlin.
Throughout his life, Eberhard Mönch was tirelessly active for patient organizations. It was very important to him to give a voice to patients with congenital metabolic disorders and to support their interests. Among other things, he was a founding member of the patient organization Association for Congenital Metabolic Disorders (VfASS) e.V. and for many years a board member of VfASS and DIG PKU. Due to his activities, he was appointed an honorary member of the PKU Association of the Republic of Estonia.
His knowledge, his many years of experience, and his enthusiasm for congenital metabolic disorders were extremely motivating for young colleagues. Long after his active professional career, he remained involved in the training for congenital metabolic disorders. He summarized his knowledge as the author of several books on these diseases.
Eberhard Mönch was a member of various medical societies and was a founding member of the Working Group for Pediatric Metabolic Disorders (APS), which is known today as the Society for Congenital Metabolic Disorders (GfAS) e.V., as well as the Working Group for Metabolic Disorders in Internal Medicine (ASIM). The GfAS had appointed him an honorary member in recognition of all his activities.
We mourn a colleague, scientist, patient advocate, and dedicated physician.
Our condolences go out to his wife and son.
The Board of the Society for Congenital Metabolic Disorders e.V.
on behalf of all GfAS members
