Prof. Langer has been head of the department of pathology and molecular pathology at the Johannes Kepler University Linz since June 1, 2020. In this position, he will also head the clinical department of the same name at the Kepler University Hospital.

Langer most recently served as senior physician at the Institute of Pathology at the University of Bern. His area of scientific focus is tumor pathology, particularly in the upper gastrointestinal tract, tissue-based evaluation, and predicting tumor response to neoadjuvant therapy, postmortem diagnostics, and medical education.

Langer describes himself as a physician, diagnostician, clinical researcher, and educator and remarked: "These are exciting times for the field of pathology. Following the progress and findings in molecular pathology, digital pathology has opened up as a promising new field. This area ranges from an entirely digitized incision to image analysis and artificial intelligence. It is a fascinating idea to combine these different components - histology, molecular pathology and digital pathology - in an integrative way to create morpho-molecular tissue diagnostics and tissue research."

Innovative Professor for the JKU
Langer chose the JKU for many reasons, including the opportunities available at the Kepler University Hospital and its broad medical care mandate, concepts such as the Center for Medical Research and the Center for Medical Education of JKU Faculty of Medicine, as well as the support programs for junior researchers and established scientifically interested physicians. Interaction with other university institutions, such as the Institute of Medical and Biomechatronics Engineering and the Linz Institute of Technology (LIT), also holds exciting potential.

JKU Rector Meinhard Lukas is pleased with the appointment and added: "Appointing Prof. Langer means that together with the Rectorate, our still growing Faculty of Medicine has succeeded in bringing an excellent physician and researcher on board. His professional skills and openness toward digital perspectives in pathology promise fruitful collaboration (with LIT, for example) that will cross borders. Prof. Langer’s innovative and interdisciplinary approach will set new standards in research and teaching."

JKU Vice-Rector Drda emphasized, "Appointing Prof. Langer fills the ninth department chair and is also a key position at the faculty in Linz. Pathology is an important basic subject in pre-clinical education and for learning about organ-specific modules. As a link between basic and applied research, pathology is the key subject area for research into the causes, nature and consequences of diseases and is an integral part of clinical medicine."

Franz Harnoncourt, managing director of the Kepler University Hospital, remarked, "I am delighted, both personally and professionally for the institute and the Clinical Center, that we have been able to attract an international expert such as Prof. Langer. His areas of expertise fit well into the Kepler University Hospital’s medical structure. Pathology is an extremely important subject, not only for the Faculty of Medicine, but also for our patients’ medical care as in this field, many diagnostic threads come together. I wish Prof. Langer all the best in his new position."

About Prof. Langer

Born in Regensburg (Germany) in 1973, Univ. Prof. Dr. Rupert Langer studied human medicine at the University of Regensburg and at the Technical University of Munich, earning his doctorate in 2001. He earned his habilitation/post-doc degree in 2010.
Between 2009 and 2011, Langer served as senior physician and head of the tumor bank at the Klinikum rechts der Isar at the Technical University of Munich. After a short stay in Malawi as a "Volunteer Pathologist", Prof. Langer moved to Switzerland in 2012 where he was Senior Physician at the Institute of Pathology at the University of Bern.
The married father of two grown-up sons balances his professional and home life doing sports (surfing and football), enjoying theater and music, reading, cooking, and practicing yoga daily.