In Memoriam Gregor K. Wenning (1964–2024)

The field of movement disorders has lost one of its heroes: Gregor K. Wenning, a world leader in the field of multiple system atrophy (MSA) research, suddenly and unexpectedly passed away on February 11, 2024. He was an outstanding clinician–scientist, an empathetic physician and a highly esteemed colleague, mentor, and dear friend to those working with him at the Department of Neurology at Innsbruck Medical University in Austria and the global movement disorders community. His untimely death has left us in shock and deep sadness.

Gregor was born on March 21, 1964, in Horstmar, a small town in the northwest Germany close to the Dutch border, where his father worked as a high school teacher. Gregor was the third of the four children of Karl-Heinz and Elisabeth Wenning, and at age 15 he tragically lost his father, who had fallen victim to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. This traumatizing experience of the grim consequences of a neurological illness may have been one of the reasons for his later decision to enter medical school at the University of Münster and eventually devote his medical career to the study of and care for patients with neurodegenerative diseases.

Gregor was a brilliant student at high school and excelled in every subject, which earned him a stipend of the German National Scholarship Foundation for his university studies. During his first years of medical school he pursued a second academic curriculum at the Philosophical Faculty of Tübingen University. Indeed, his very first research paper, which was published in 1989 (his final medical school year), dealt with the illumination theory of Augustinus—a philosopher and fourth-century Christian bishop of ancient Hippo in today's Algeria—which postulates that human insight and recognition are the results of divine enlightenment. Gregor published two more articles on Augustinus (the last one as late as 2010); he remained deeply religious himself throughout his life, and in 2011 he was blessed with a papal audience by Benedict the 16th to whom he presented his writings on the ancient bishop.

After having graduated from medical school in 1990, Gregor started a neurology residency in the Department of Neurology of Eberhard-Karls-University in Tübingen and soon became fascinated by neurodegenerative movement disorders.

This special interest made Gregor move to London in 1992 to join the team of Professor David Marsden and Niall Quinn at King's College Hospital and subsequently at the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery at Queen Square. During this time Gregor wrote his first classic paper on the clinical presentation and natural history of MSA based on 100 autopsy proven cases. Since its publication in Brain in 1994, this paper has had close to 1000 citations, making it one of his most cited articles. Gregor's activity in London was prolific, addressing virtually every aspect of MSA ranging from an extensive literature survey of pathologically proven MSA to clinical, neurophysiological, and imaging studies and eventually the study of effects of fetal allografts in an MSA rat model; his outstanding work earned him the award of PhD by the University of London.

In 1995 Gregor joined the Department of Neurology in Innsbruck, Austria, to complete his neurological residency, and despite heavy clinical duties he was able to press on with his research, secure grants, and publish a steady flow of papers on a broad range of topics in the field of MSA and atypical parkinsonism. He was promoted to assistant professor level in less than 5 years, and in 2006 the Medical University Innsbruck appointed him as Full Professor of Clinical Neurobiology. He seized the opportunity to expand his research laboratory to a division of clinical neurobiology and—together with Nadia Stefanova— turned this into a hub of translational MSA research.

Gregor has published close to 600 papers with 53,000 citations, and his research grants total more than 10 million euros. He initiated and chaired multiple national and international research consortia and networks, including the European MSA Study Group, the MDS MSA Study Group, and the Task Force on Diagnostic Criteria for MSA of the International Movement Disorder Society. He also led an international expert group that designed and validated the Unified MSA Rating Scale (UMSARS), which has since become the standard outcome parameter in clinical MSA trials. Gregor served on the board of the Austrian PD and Movement Disorder Society, founded and chaired the Austrian Autonomic Society, and served as treasurer of the European Federation of Autonomic Societies; he was a valued trustee of the UK MSA Trust and chaired the Research Steering Council of the US MSA Coalition. He received numerous prizes and awards, including the Oppenheimer MSA Award and the JP Schouppe Award for Lifetime Achievements in MSA Research. As president of the Bishop-Golser Foundation for Research in Atypical Parkinsonism, he created a prestigious international award that honors the achievements of outstanding clinicians and scientists in the field and counts such giants as the Nobel laureate Stanley Prusiner among its recipients.

Gregor's talents went far beyond neurology; he loved music, played the piano, and sang in choirs throughout his career and had plans to resume his philosophical studies after retirement. But above all, he was a caring physician driven by a vision to understand the origins of MSA and find a cure for this devastating illness. He motivated and mentored a large number of students and fellows; his energy seemed endless, and his colleagues could always count on his advice and assistance. He was admired for his brilliant mind and loved for his honesty, kindness, and humor. Gregor easily and empathetically engaged with his fellow human beings—be they his patients, students and colleagues, or the fishermen on the coast in Pescara where he spent his summers with his Italian wife Roberta and family.

Although his impressive career had made him a frequent traveler to congresses and other professional meetings all over the world, Gregor always remained a family man, and his two sons were a source of pride—Marco 25, currently enrolled in a PhD in philosophy at Vienna University, and Max 27, pursuing a career as a professional actor.

Gregor was a remarkable man in every respect and was prone to surprise his friends—like showing up unannounced on a Saturday morning in New York, having just landed from a transatlantic flight, carrying pastries for breakfast. He also loved to give advice, and a typical example is contained in a text message one of us (H.K.) received from Gregor not long before his untimely death:

We share the sorrow and grief of his wife and his two sons and all his family. His colleagues and friends in the global movement disorders community will always remember Gregor in gratitude, admiration, and respect.

None.