Technical University of Munich members receive Bavarian Order of Merit

Minister President Dr. Markus Söder presented the Bavarian Order of Merit to TUM members Alena Buyx, Professor of Ethics in Medicine and Health Technologies, and Heribert Schunkert, Professor of Cardiology. The Order is awarded annually in recognition of outstanding contributions to the Free State of Bavaria.

The Bavarian Order of Merit was established in 1957 and is awarded to men and women of any nationality. The total number of living honorees is limited to 2000.
In 2023, 88 individuals were awarded the Bavarian Order of Merit by Minister President Söder during a ceremony in Munich’s Residenz.

Alena Buyx became Professor of Ethics in Medicine and Health Technologies at TUM in 2018. She is the director of TUM’s Institute of History and Ethics of Medicine. Her research spans the whole field of biomedical ethics, with a particular focus on ethics of medical innovation as well as solidarity and justice in contexts such as public health and health care provision. She has been a member of the German Ethics Council since 2016 and became its chairwoman in 2020.

Heribert Schunkert holds the Chair of Cardiology. He is an expert in the field of genetics of multifactorial cardiovascular diseases. Heribert Schunkert is the director of the Department of Cardiovascular Diseases at the German Heart Centre Munich – Clinic at the Technical University of Munich.