Marc Baldus is a physicist and professor of NMR spectroscopy at

Utrecht University Utrecht University (UU; nl, Universiteit Utrecht, formerly ''Rijksuniversiteit Utrecht'') is a public research university in Utrecht, Netherlands. Established , it is one of the oldest universities in the Netherlands. In 2018, it had an enrollme ...

. He is especially known for his work in the field of

structural biology Structural biology is a field that is many centuries old which, and as defined by the Journal of Structural Biology, deals with structural analysis of living material (formed, composed of, and/or maintained and refined by living cells) at every le ...

using

solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance Solid-state NMR (ssNMR) spectroscopy is a technique for characterizing atomic level structure in solid materials e.g. powders, single crystals and amorphous samples and tissues using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The anisotropic pa ...

(ssNMR) spectroscopy. He applies ssNMR methods to establish structure-function relationships in complex biomolecular systems including membrane and Amyloid proteins. In addition, he develops cellular NMR methods to study large molecular transport and insertion systems in bacteria as well as signal transduction mechanisms in eukaryotic cells.

Biography

Marc Baldus studied

physics Physics is the natural science that studies matter, its fundamental constituents, its motion and behavior through space and time, and the related entities of energy and force. "Physical science is that department of knowledge which r ...

at the

Technische Universität Darmstadt The Technische Universität Darmstadt (official English name Technical University of Darmstadt, sometimes also referred to as Darmstadt University of Technology), commonly known as TU Darmstadt, is a research university in the city of Darmstadt ...

, after which he became a Diploma Student at the Department of Physics of

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

in Gainesville, USA. He obtained his PhD degree in 1996 from the

ETH Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

in Switzerland. After postdoctoral research at

MIT The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the mo ...

and

Leiden University Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a Public university, public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William the Silent, William, Prince o ...

he became group leader at the

Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry The Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (german: Max-Planck-Institut für biophysikalische Chemie), also known as the Karl-Friedrich Bonhoeffer Institute (german: Karl-Friedrich-Bonhoeffer-Institut), was a research institute of the Ma ...

in Goettingen, Germany. In 2008 he became Full Professor of Structural Biology in the

Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research The Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research is a research institute at Utrecht University. The Bijvoet Centre performs research on the relation between the structure and function of biomolecules, including proteins and lipids, which play a role ...

in Utrecht. From 2016 to 2019 he was scientific director of the Bijvoet Centre for Biomolecular Research.

Research

Marc Baldus is an expert in the field of structural biology using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (ssNMR) spectroscopy. In addition, he develops cellular NMR methods for structural biology, such as

Dynamic Nuclear Polarization Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) results from transferring spin polarization from electrons to nuclei, thereby aligning the nuclear spins to the extent that electron spins are aligned. Note that the alignment of electron spins at a given magnetic ...

(DNP) NMR spectroscopy and his research group at Utrecht University was the first group worldwide with a 527 GHz Solid State DNP-NMR spectrometer. Baldus is also the coordinator of the uNMR-NL project, funded by the

Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research The Dutch Research Council (NWO, Dutch: Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek) is the national research council of the Netherlands. NWO funds thousands of top researchers at universities and institutes and steers the course of ...

(NWO) with 18.5M Euro, to establish a national infrastructure for ultra-high field NMR spectroscopy, a joined initiative between Utrecht University, the

Radboud University Nijmegen Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, nl, Radboud Universiteit , formerly ''Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen'') is a public research university located in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The university bears the name of Saint Radboud, a 9th century D ...

Wageningen University Wageningen University & Research (also known as Wageningen UR; abbreviation: WUR) is a public university in Wageningen, Netherlands, specializing in life sciences with a focus on agriculture, technical and engineering subjects. It is a globally ...

Eindhoven University of Technology The Eindhoven University of Technology ( nl, Technische Universiteit Eindhoven), abbr. TU/e, is a public technical university in the Netherlands, located in the city of Eindhoven. In 2020–21, around 14,000 students were enrolled in its BSc a ...

and the Dutch public-private partnership COAST for the analytical sciences. The uNMR-NL facility was officially opened by Dutch

Undersecretary Undersecretary (or under secretary) is a title for a person who works for and has a lower rank than a secretary (person in charge). It is used in the executive branch of government, with different meanings in different political systems, and is al ...

for Education, Culture and Science,

Sander Dekker Sander Dekker (born 9 February 1975) is a Dutch politician who served as Minister for Legal Protection in the Third Rutte cabinet from 2017 to 2022. A member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), he previously served as State S ...

on November 5, 2015. The main focus of the research of Marc Baldus is the use of solid state NMR spectroscopy to study the structure and dynamics of proteins and other biomolecules. He has used the technology amongst others to study the behavior of bacterial proteins, protein aggregation in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease, to study the effect of sugars on membrane behaviour, for the analysis of membrane embedded proteins such as

G-protein coupled receptors G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs), also known as seven-(pass)-transmembrane domain receptors, 7TM receptors, heptahelical receptors, serpentine receptors, and G protein-linked receptors (GPLR), form a large group of protein family, evolution ...

and

ion channels Ion channels are pore-forming membrane proteins that allow ions to pass through the channel pore. Their functions include establishing a resting membrane potential, shaping action potentials and other electrical signals by gating the flow of io ...

and for the characterization of novel

drug delivery systems A route of administration in pharmacology and toxicology is the way by which a drug, fluid, poison, or other substance is taken into the body. Routes of administration are generally classified by the location at which the substance is applied. ...

. In recent years, his attention has been focussed on the analysis of in-cell NMR to study the structure and function of proteins in their native cellular environment.

Honours and awards

Marc Baldus received the Founders Medal of the International Conference on Magnetic Resonance in Biological Systems (ICMRBS) in August 2006. In 2014, Marc Baldus received the

Günther Laukien Prize The Günther Laukien Prize is a prize presented at the European Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Conference "to recognize recent cutting-edge experimental NMR research with a high probability of enabling beneficial new applications". The prize was establi ...

from Richard Ernst, 1991 Nobel laureate in Chemistry. The prize recognizes cutting-edge experimental NMR research, is awarded yearly and is one of the most prestigious prizes in the field of NMR and MRI.

References

External links

Marc Baldus
at NARCIS, the database of scientists working at Dutch institutions
Marc Baldus'
personal page at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Baldus, Marc 21st-century German physicists 1967 births Living people Technische Universität Darmstadt alumni University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Sciences alumni