Koch is a bacteriologist working at the Imperial Health Bureau in Berlin. Prior to his discovery, many believed tuberculosis was hereditary, not contagious. The recognition of the contagion factor of tuberculosis begins to change attitudes towards treatment. In 1885, Koch will be appointed Professor of Hygiene at the new Institute of Hygiene at the University of Berlin, where he will unsuccessfully attempt to cure tuberculosis. His work will win him the Nobel Prize in 1905.