Welte was a highly valued partner and colleague to many researchers at the HZI. With the establishment of the research group "Dynamics of Respiratory Infections" (DINF) at the HZI in fall 2022 under the direction of Prof. Hortense Slevogt, he also created a direct link between his clinic and the HZI. The focus of this group is on translational research into lung infections. Other close collaborations with Tobias Welte existed, for example, with the HZI "Epidemiology" department under the direction of Prof. Gérard Krause (now WHO) and currently Dr. Berit Lange, the Centre for Individualized Infection Medicine (CiiM) under the direction of Prof. Markus Cornberg and Prof. Yang Li, as well as with the "Experimental Virology" department at the HZI and TWINCORE under the direction of Prof. Thomas Pietschmann. The CiiM and TWINCORE are joint facilities of the HZI and the MHH.
Tobias Welte had been Professor of Pneumology and Clinic Director at the MHH for 20 years, where he also studied. Between March 2020 and February 2021, Welte held the office of Vice President of the hospital on an interim basis. He was also active in the "Clinical Trial Unit" of the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF).
The staff of the HZI remain deeply grateful to Tobias Welte and express their deepest sympathy to his relatives.
