Martin J. Lohse (born 26 August 1956) is a German physician and pharmacologist.

Career

Lohse performs ongoing research on

G protein-coupled receptor 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 evolutionarily-related p ...

s. Since 1993, he is a Professor of Pharmacology at the University of

Würzburg Würzburg (; Main-Franconian: ) is a city in the region of Franconia in the north of the German state of Bavaria. Würzburg is the administrative seat of the ''Regierungsbezirk'' Lower Franconia. It spans the banks of the Main River. Würzburg is ...

, Germany, and he was the Founding Chairman of the Rudolf Virchow Center (2001–2016). From 2016 to 2019, he was Chairman of the Board and Scientific Director of the Max Delbrück Center in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, a national research center of the

Helmholtz Association The Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres (german: Helmholtz-Gemeinschaft Deutscher Forschungszentren) is the largest scientific organisation in Germany. It is a union of 18 scientific-technical and biological-medical research centers. ...

for molecular medicine. In 2017, he also became Speaker of the Board of the Berlin Institute of Health, a joint research center of the Max Delbrück Center and the

Charité The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin (Charité – Berlin University of Medicine) is one of Europe's largest university hospitals, affiliated with Humboldt University and Free University Berlin. With numerous Collaborative Research Cen ...

. Lohse received his exam in medicine as well as his M.D. from the University of

Göttingen Göttingen (, , ; nds, Chöttingen) is a college town, university city in Lower Saxony, central Germany, the Capital (political), capital of Göttingen (district), the eponymous district. The River Leine runs through it. At the end of 2019, t ...

, and did research in pharmacology at the University of

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

and the GeneCenter in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

. His research focusses on the role of receptors in heart failure and on the mechanisms of their activation and inactivation. While working with

Robert Lefkowitz Robert Joseph Lefkowitz (born April 15, 1943) is an American physician (internist and cardiologist) and biochemist. He is best known for his groundbreaking discoveries that reveal the inner workings of an important family G protein-coupled recep ...

he discovered beta-

arrestin Arrestins (abbreviated Arr) are a small family of proteins important for regulating signal transduction at G protein-coupled receptors. Arrestins were first discovered as a part of a conserved two-step mechanism for regulating the activity of ...

s, proteins that regulate the function of certain cell surface receptors. He discovered that

beta-1 adrenergic receptor The beta-1 adrenergic receptor (β1 adrenoceptor), also known as ADRB1, is a beta-adrenergic receptor, and also denotes the human gene encoding it. It is a G-protein coupled receptor associated with the Gs heterotrimeric G-protein and is express ...

s and their regulatory

G protein-coupled receptor kinases G protein-coupled receptor kinases (GPCRKs, GRKs) are a family of protein kinases within the AGC (protein kinase A, protein kinase G, protein kinase C) group of kinases. Like all AGC kinases, GRKs use ATP to add phosphate to Serine and Threonine ...

are dysregulated in heart failure. The observation that increased β1-adrenergic receptor levels and signaling cause long-term cardiac damage contributed to the use of

beta-blockers Beta blockers, also spelled β-blockers, are a class of medications that are predominantly used to manage abnormal heart rhythms, and to protect the heart from a second heart attack after a first heart attack (secondary prevention). They are al ...

in heart failure patients. Further studies by his lab showed that heart failure is accompanied by a specific type of activation of so-called ERK protein kinases (

Extracellular signal-regulated kinases In molecular biology, extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) or classical MAP kinases are widely expressed protein kinase intracellular signalling molecules that are involved in functions including the regulation of meiosis, mitosis, and p ...

). Another regulatory protein, Raf kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP), was shown to exert beneficial effects on cardiac structure and function. Lohse pioneered the use of optical techniques to determine, where and how fast receptors become activated by hormones and neurotransmitters.

Awards

He was awarded the Leibniz Award in 1999, the Ernst Jung Award for Medicine in 2000, and the Research Achievement Award of the International Society of Heart Research in 2007. From 2003 until 2008 he was a member of the German National Ethics Council. From 2009 to 2015 he was Vice President for Research of the University of

. From 2009 to 2019, he was Vice President of the

German 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 ...

.CV Lohse Leopoldina
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References

External links

*
Rudolf Virchow Center
official website
Lohse Work
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lohse, Martin J. Duke University alumni 1956 births Living people German pharmacologists University of Göttingen alumni Heidelberg University alumni Academic staff of the University of Würzburg Officers Crosses of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany