 He was an early assistant to Bernhard Nocht at the "Institut für Tropenmedizin" in Hamburg, where in 1900 he became head of the Department of Chemistry.In 1904 Giemsa published an essay on the staining procedure for flagellates, blood cells, and bacteria.Giemsa improved the Romanowsky stain (Eosin Y and Methylene Blue) by stabilizing this dye solution with glycerol.