Hartmut Wekerle (born May 30, 1944) is a German medical scientist and

neurobiologist A neuroscientist (or neurobiologist) is a scientist who has specialised knowledge in neuroscience, a branch of biology that deals with the physiology, biochemistry, psychology, anatomy and molecular biology of neurons, neural circuits, and glial c ...

. He is an emeritus director at the

Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology The Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology was a research institute of the Max Planck Society located in Martinsried, a suburb of Munich in Germany. It existed between 1984 and 2022 and merged with the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology to the new, ...

and was the head of the department of Neuroimmunology until 2012.

Biography

Hartmut Wekerle was born in Waldshut in 1944. He studied medicine at the

University of Freiburg The University of Freiburg (colloquially german: Uni Freiburg), officially the Albert Ludwig University of Freiburg (german: Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg), is a public university, public research university located in Freiburg im Breisg ...

. In 1967, he began scientific research at the Max Planck Institute for Immunobiology in

Freiburg Freiburg im Breisgau (; abbreviated as Freiburg i. Br. or Freiburg i. B.; Low Alemannic: ''Friburg im Brisgau''), commonly referred to as Freiburg, is an independent city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of about 230,000 (as o ...

as a PhD student under Herbert Fischer. He finished his doctorate in 1971. After graduation, he worked at the

Weizmann Institute of Science The Weizmann Institute of Science ( he, מכון ויצמן למדע ''Machon Vaitzman LeMada'') is a public research university in Rehovot, Israel, established in 1934, 14 years before the State of Israel. It differs from other Israeli unive ...

from 1971 to 1973 as a postdoctorate researcher. Later on, he led the Research Group for

Multiple Sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

at the Institute of Clinical Neurobiology at the University Hospital of the

University of Würzburg The Julius Maximilian University of Würzburg (also referred to as the University of Würzburg, in German ''Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg'') is a public research university in Würzburg, Germany. The University of Würzburg is one of ...

. In 1988, he was appointed director at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology (now

Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence {{Infobox organization , name = Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence , image = , parent_organization = Max Planck Society , location = Planegg, Martinsried and Seewiesen , type of research = basic research , fields = organismic biol ...

). After receiving the Emeritus status at the institute in 2012, he continued his research for another five years as a Senior Professorship funded by the Hertie Foundation.

Scientific focus

Hartmut Wekerle's work has been devoted to the study of cellular

immune responses An immune response is a reaction which occurs within an organism for the purpose of defending against foreign invaders. These invaders include a wide variety of different microorganisms including viruses, bacteria, parasites, and fungi which could ...

and mechanisms in the course of

multiple sclerosis Multiple (cerebral) sclerosis (MS), also known as encephalomyelitis disseminata or disseminated sclerosis, is the most common demyelinating disease, in which the insulating covers of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord are damaged. This d ...

and other

inflammatory diseases Inflammation (from la, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants, and is a protective response involving immune cells, blood vessels, and molecu ...

in the

nervous system In biology, the nervous system is the highly complex part of an animal that coordinates its actions and sensory information by transmitting signals to and from different parts of its body. The nervous system detects environmental changes th ...

. In particular, his research contributed to the following discoveries: * Detection of autoreactive T cell clones in the healthy immune system and their activation in autoimmune encephalomyelitis * Immunocompetence of central nervous glial cells * Regulatory CD8 T cells in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis * Regulation of CNS immune reactivity by active neurons * Migration pathways of autoimmune T cells to the central nervous system * Activation of CNS autoimmune T cells by intestinal microbiota * Activation of CNS autoimmune T cells by MS derived microbiota

Awards (Selection)

Ernst Jung Prize The Ernst Jung Prize is a prize awarded annually for excellence in biomedical sciences. The Ernst Jung Foundation, funded by Hamburg merchant Ernst Jung in 1967, has awarded the Ernst Jung Prize in Medicine, now €300,000, since 1976, and the lif ...

for Medicine (1982) * K-J. Zülch Prize (1999, awarded by the

Max Planck Society The Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science (german: Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e. V.; abbreviated MPG) is a formally independent non-governmental and non-profit association of German research institutes. ...

, now known as The International Prize for Translational Neuroscience of the Gertrud Reemtsma Foundation) * Charcot Award (International Federation of MS Societies, 2001) * Louis D Award (Grand Prix des Academies des Sciences, Paris, 2002) * Betty and David Koetser Award (Zurich, 2005) * Jacob Henle Medal (University of Goettingen, 2017)

Honorary Degrees and Memberships

* Honorary Professor,

University of Munich The Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich (simply University of Munich or LMU; german: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It is Germany's List of universities in Germany, sixth-oldest u ...

(1993) * Member of the

German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina The German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (german: Deutsche Akademie der Naturforscher Leopoldina – Nationale Akademie der Wissenschaften), short Leopoldina, is the national academy of Germany, and is located in Halle (Saale). Founded ...

(2002) *

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

of the Medical Faculty of the

University of Hamburg The University of Hamburg (german: link=no, Universität Hamburg, also referred to as UHH) is a public research university in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded on 28 March 1919 by combining the previous General Lecture System ('' Allgemeines Vor ...

(2013) * Honorary Doctorate of the

(2014) * Honorary Member of the Société Française de Neurologie (2016) * Honorary Member of the Cuban Neursocience Society (2017) *

Hertie School The Hertie School (until 2019 Hertie School of Governance) is a German private, independent graduate school for governance (public policy, international affairs and data science) located in Berlin's Friedrichstraße. Hertie School is according t ...

Senior Professorship (2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wekerle, Hartmut 1944 births Living people 20th-century German biologists Multiple sclerosis German neuroscientists People from Waldshut-Tiengen University of Freiburg alumni Max Planck Institute directors