Editorial foreword: Angiogenesis: Cells, tissues and organs

Abstract

On the occasion of his 90th birthday, this Special Issue is dedicated to Professor Robert Auerbach. Born 1929 in Berlin, Germany, he and his family escaped Nazi Germany in 1939 and emigrated to the United States, where he became a zoologist and ultimately Professor and Director of the Developmental Biology Training Program at the Department of Zoology, Madison, University of Wisconsin, USA. In Auerbach's laboratory, students and scientists of many different nations, including politically persecuted ones, harmoniously worked together on different aspects of angiogenesis. One of the hallmarks of Auerbach's career as a scientist was and is his generosity towards others, sharing his equipment and ideas freely, his integrity and his collegiality. His significant contributions to angiogenesis and tumour research include the finding that angiogenesis in tumours can occur even after their irradiation (Auerbach, Arensman, Kubai, & Folkman, 1975) and an explanation of organ selectivity in the spread of metastasizing cancer cells (Auerbach, 1988). Through his outstanding papers on in vitro methods in angiogenesis research, he also supported animal welfare (Alby & Auerbach, 1984; Auerbach, Lewis, Shinners, Kubai, & Akhtar, 2003; Gumkowski, Kaminska, Kaminski, Morrissey, & Auerbach, 1987; Obeso, Weber, & Auerbach, 1990).