We were deeply saddened to learn of the passing of our dear friend and colleague Alexander Kurz, on 29 January 2023. Alexander Friedrich Kurz, M.D., was a Professor of Psychiatry and Senior Scientist at Technical University Munich (TUM) School of Medicine, Munich (Germany). He was active in the field of geriatric psychiatry as a clinician, researcher and teacher since 1985 and directed the Centre for Cognitive Disorders at TUM from 1989 to 2015. In addition to his teaching and research activities, he acted as principal investigator on numerous clinical trials. After retiring from clinical work, he planned and coordinated European research and development projects including the JPND-funded “Research to Assess Policies and Strategies for Dementia in the Young“ (RHAPSODY), the initiative “Improving Dementia Care in the Danube Region“ (INDEED) supported by the INTERREG-Danube Transnational Programme and the Erasmus+ project “Stepping Up Digital Competence in Dementia Education“ (STUDICODE).
Alexander Kurz served on the Board of Alzheimer Europe from 1998 to 2004 and was a member of the Board of Deutsche Alzheimer Gesellschaft, since 1997. He was a vital part of our big European family and will be very much missed. Since learning the sad news, messages of condolence and of grief have been flooding in from our Board members and other colleagues, sharing their fond memories of working with him throughout the years. We will remember Alexander Kurz as a dear friend and a passionate, dedicated researcher in the dementia field and will think back to his excellent keynote speech at our Bucharest conference last year with gratitude and fondness. His passing has been a big shock to us all and we offer our most sincere condolences to his family, friends and colleagues.