Nobel Prize. In 1965, the University of Geneva promoted him to Extraordinary Professor for Molecular Genetics. In 1971, after spending a year as a visiting Miller Professor in the Department of Molecular Biology at Berkeley, Arber moved to the University of Basel. In Basel, he was one of the first persons to work in the newly constructed Biozentrum, which housed the departments of biophysics, biochemistry, microbiology, structural biology, cell biology and pharmacology and was thus conducive to interdisciplinary research. On 27 occasions since 1981, Werner Arber has shared his expertise and passion for science with young scientists at the Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings. Werner Arber is member of the World Knowledge Dialogue Scientific Board and of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences since 1981. In 1981, Arber became a founding member of the World Cultural Council. He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1984. Pope Benedict XVI appointed him as President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences in January 2011, making him the first Protestant to hold the position. In 2017, Arber retired as President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences and was replaced by German scientist Joachim von Braun. Personal life Arber is married and has two daughters, including Silvia Arber. Arber is a Christian and theistic evolutionist, stating "The most primitive cells may require at least several hundred different specific biological macromolecules. How such already quite complex structures may have come together, remains a mystery to me. The possibility of the existence of a Creator, of God, represents to me a satisfactory solution to this problem." In addition, he has affirmed: "I know that the concept of God helped me to master many questions in life; it guides me in critical situations, and I see it confirmed in many deep insights into the beauty of the functioning of the world." References Further reading External links Official Biography from the Pontifical Academy of Sciences Free to View Video Interview with Werner Arber provided by the Vega Science Trust. 1929 births Living people People from Aarau District Swiss microbiologists Founding members of the World Cultural Council Foreign associates of the National Academy of Sciences History of biotechnology Swiss biologists Phage workers Nobel laureates in Physiology or Medicine University of Geneva alumni University of Southern California faculty Academic staff of the University of Geneva Swiss Nobel laureates Swiss Protestants Presidents of the Pontifical Academy of