Prof. Dr. Markus Hengstschläger

Prof. Dr Markus Hengstschläger is an Austrian geneticist. He heads the Institute of Genetics at the Medical University of Vienna and the genetics department at the Wunschbaby Zentrum, Institute for Fertility (Vienna). He presents the medical and science programme “Radiodoktor” on ORF’s Radio Ö1 and the science programme “Spontan gefragt” on Kurier TV. In addition, the bestselling author is the scientific director of the Upper Austrian think tank “ACADEMIA SUPERIOR – Society for Future Studies”.
Professor Hengstschläger studied genetics at the University of Vienna and obtained his PhD in 1992 at the Vienna Biocenter. He undertook a research fellowship at Yale University (USA) and took over as head of the genetics laboratory at the Vienna Gynaecological Clinic. In 2003, he became a university professor of medical genetics at the Medical University of Vienna.
He has also completed his training as a specialist in human genetics. His research focuses on basic science and routine diagnostics in the field of medical genetics. He gained international renown through his research into the hereditary condition tuberous sclerosis, the discovery of stem cells in human amniotic fluid, and his innovations in the field of prenatal and postnatal genetic diagnostics.
In his book *The Average Trap*, he outlines why the average is an evolutionary dead end and why deviating from the norm must become the norm in future. Businesses and society need more ‘peaks’ and ‘freaks’. The greater the diversity of individuals within a system, the more likely it is that someone will be able to provide an answer to a question that remains unknown today. “The average is used to promote uniformity.”
Every person has their own individual, innate genetic makeup. “But that is worth nothing unless you discover it through hard work and transform it into a special achievement through practice, practice, practice.” And that achievement is success.
Human beings cannot be reduced to their genes. They are the product of the interaction between genetics and the environment. “Genes are pencil and paper, but we write the story ourselves.” The fact remains that going with the flow of mediocrity is popular. Whether at the front or the back, you have to hold your own; if you stand out, you have to take responsibility for what you do.
His recommendation is: “Compensate for a lack of intrapersonal intelligence with interpersonal intelligence.” You need to know what you can and cannot do. And then you need social skills to inspire someone to help you with the things you cannot do.
Until 2020, he was Deputy Head of the Council for Research and Technological Development; he is Deputy Chair of the Austrian Bioethics Commission and President of the Austrian Society for Stem Cell Research (ASSCR), Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Lower Austrian Research Promotion Agency, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Vienna Science, Research and Technology Fund, founder and director of the ‘Impact Lech’ symposium, and was a member of the University Council of Johannes Kepler University Linz until 2023.
He has received numerous awards – the Amersham Pharmacia Prize, the Clexo Prize, the City of Vienna Fund’s Prize for Innovative Cancer Research, Schrödinger Lecturer (Ireland), the Golden Book for *The Power of Genes*, the 2007 ‘Favourite Book’ award for *The Power of Genes*, and the 2012 ‘Favourite Book’ award for ‘The Average Trap: Genes – Talents – Opportunities’, the Grand Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria (2017), and in 2026: the Mostdipf Prize.