Prof Dr. Dr. h.c. Nikolaus Pfanner

Insti­tute for Biochem­istry and Molec­u­lar Biology, Univer­sity of Freiburg

Nikolaus Pfanner is Manag­ing Direc­tor of the Insti­tute for Biochem­istry and Molec­u­lar Biology of the Univer­sity of Freiburg.

He is an expert in the field of mitochon­dria and was the first scien­tist to succeed with his team in decipher­ing their molec­u­lar compo­si­tion. In addition to his research on the struc­ture of mitochon­dria, he inves­ti­gates inner cellu­lar trans­port mecha­nisms, i.e. the pathways of proteins from the cytosol of the cell through the mitochon­dr­ial membranes to their destination.

Nikolaus Pfanner received, among others, the Leibniz Prize of the German Research Founda­tion (DFG), the Schlei­den Medal of the German National Academy of Sciences (Leopold­ina), the Otto Warburg Medal of the German Society for Biochem­istry and Molec­u­lar Biology, the Wilhelm Feldberg Prize and the Stein and Moore Award of the Protein Society, and the Federal Cross of Merit. He is a member of the Leopold­ina, the Heidel­berg Academy of Sciences and Human­i­ties and the Acade­mia Europaea.