Wolfgang Holzgreve graduated in medicine from the University of Münster  in Germany and in genetics from the University of California in Berkeley. He became a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology in Germany and did his postdoctoral fellowship in reproductive genetics at the University of California in San Francisco. In 1995 he was appointed as Chair of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the University of Basel, Switzerland. From there he was recruited back to Germany to become the Medical Director and Chair of the Board of Directors of the University of Freiburg. In 2010/2011 he has been on a sabbatical at the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin. Since 2012 he is  Physician-in-Chief and Chair of the Board of Directors of the University Bonn Medical Center. Prof. Holzgreve´s main research has been in the area of prenatal diagnosis and therapy, and he was involved with the development of invasive techniques such as chorionic villus sampling and Non-invasive Prenatal Diagnosis from maternal blood. His research resulted in more than 600 original papers, more than 10 books, Editorial Board memberships of 15 journals. He received many awards including the Maternite award, the Liley medal etc, and received seven honorary doctoral degrees. He was President of many professional organizations such as the German Societies of Reproductive Medicine and of Perinatal Medicine, as well President of the Swiss Society of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Treasurer of the European Board and College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (EBCOG) and of the World Federation of Gynaecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) for six years each. He has served the German National Academy of Science Leopoldina in various capacities.