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
A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often i ...
of 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. ...
, located in
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 ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. On January 1, 2022, the institute merged with the
Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine
The Max Planck Institute of Experimental Medicine (german: Max-Planck-Institut für Experimentelle Medizin) was a research institute of the Max Planck Society, located in Göttingen, Germany. On January 1, 2022, the institute merged with the Max ...
in Göttingen to form the
Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences
Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences (german: Max-Planck-Institut für Multidisziplinäre Naturwissenschaften) is a research institute of the Max Planck Society, located in Göttingen, Germany. It was formed on January 1, 2022, throu ...
.
This was the only Max Planck Institute (MPI) which combined the three classical scientific disciplines –
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
,
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 ...
and
chemistry
Chemistry is the science, scientific study of the properties and behavior of matter. It is a natural science that covers the Chemical element, elements that make up matter to the chemical compound, compounds made of atoms, molecules and ions ...
. Founded in 1971, its initial focus was on problems in physics in chemistry. It had undergone a continuous evolution manifested by an expanding range of core subjects and work areas such as
neurobiology
Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system (the brain, spinal cord, and peripheral nervous system), its functions and disorders. It is a multidisciplinary science that combines physiology, anatomy, molecular biology, development ...
,
biochemistry
Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...
, and
molecular biology
Molecular biology is the branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecular basis of biological activity in and between cells, including biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactions. The study of chemical and physi ...
. At the time of merger, 850 people worked at the institute, about half of them scientists. Four researchers working at the institute (
Stefan Hell
Stefan Walter Hell HonFRMS (: born 23 December 1962) is a Romanian-German physicist and one of the directors of the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany. He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2014 "for the d ...
, 2014;
Erwin Neher
Erwin Neher (; ; born 20 March 1944) is a German biophysicist, specializing in the field of cell physiology. For significant contribution in the field, in 1991 he was awarded, along with Bert Sakmann, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for ...
and
Bert Sakmann
Bert Sakmann (; born 12 June 1942) is a German cell physiologist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Erwin Neher in 1991 for their work on "the function of single ion channels in cells," and the invention of the patch cla ...
, 1991;
Manfred Eigen
Manfred Eigen (; 9 May 1927 – 6 February 2019) was a German Biophysical chemistry, biophysical chemist who won the 1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work on measuring fast chemical reactions.
Eigen's research helped solve major problems in ...
, 1967) were awarded the
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes ( ; sv, Nobelpriset ; no, Nobelprisen ) are five separate prizes that, according to Alfred Nobel's will of 1895, are awarded to "those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind." Alfr ...
.
History
The origins of the institute date to 1949. At that time, the Max Planck Society established the MPI for Physical Chemistry in Göttingen as a follow-up to the former
Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Physical Chemistry
The Kaiser Wilhelm Society for the Advancement of Science (German: ''Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften'') was a German scientific institution established in the German Empire in 1911. Its functions were taken over by ...
in Berlin.
Karl-Friedrich Bonhoeffer
Karl-Friedrich Bonhoeffer (13 January 1899 – 15 May 1957) was a German chemist.
Education and career
Born in Breslau, he was an older brother of martyred theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer. His father was neurologist Karl Bonhoeffer and his moth ...
, who had worked at the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute, became the founding director of the new institute. He was one of the first researchers who applied physical-chemical methods in biological research and thus combined different disciplines of natural sciences in research.
In 1971, the MPI for Physical Chemistry merged with the MPI for Spectroscopy (also in Göttingen), forming the MPI for Biophysical Chemistry. This was mainly initiated by Nobel Prize laureate
Manfred Eigen
Manfred Eigen (; 9 May 1927 – 6 February 2019) was a German Biophysical chemistry, biophysical chemist who won the 1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work on measuring fast chemical reactions.
Eigen's research helped solve major problems in ...
, director of the MPI for Physical Chemistry. His vision of an interdisciplinary approach to biological research was decisive and the creative impulse for the development of the institute. In honour of Karl Friedrich Bonhoeffer, the new institute was named after him.
Although the institute was dedicated to basic research – by virtue of the charter of the Max Planck Society – its policy was to encourage the transfer of numerous technological innovations to the marketplace. As a consequence, many licensing agreements and start-up firms arose from research conducted at the institute, e. g.
Lambda Physik
Lambda (}, ''lám(b)da'') is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet, representing the voiced alveolar lateral approximant . In the system of Greek numerals, lambda has a value of 30. Lambda is derived from the Phoenician Lamed . Lambda gave rise ...
(today part of Coherent),
DeveloGen (today part of
Evotec
Evotec SE is a publicly listed drug discovery and development company headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. The company operates globally, largely through external alliances with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic institutions, ...
) and
Evotec
Evotec SE is a publicly listed drug discovery and development company headquartered in Hamburg, Germany. The company operates globally, largely through external alliances with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, academic institutions, ...
.
Research
Research focus
Research at the institute focuses on the fundamental mechanisms that regulate and control life processes: How is genetic information correctly translated into proteins? How do nerve cells communicate with each other? How is cellular logistics controlled? On the organismal level, researchers at the institute study the circadian rhythms of the vertebrate, or differentiation and development in multicellular organisms.
To obtain even deeper insights into the nanocosmos of living cells, the institute employs ultra-high resolution microscopy,
nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy
Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, most commonly known as NMR spectroscopy or magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS), is a spectroscopic technique to observe local magnetic fields around atomic nuclei. The sample is placed in a magnetic fiel ...
and tomography,
mass spectrometry
Mass spectrometry (MS) is an analytical technique that is used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. The results are presented as a ''mass spectrum'', a plot of intensity as a function of the mass-to-charge ratio. Mass spectrometry is use ...
,
optical spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the field of study that measures and interprets the electromagnetic spectra that result from the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter as a function of the wavelength or frequency of the radiation. Matter wav ...
, or atomistic computer simulations. At the same time the institute concentrates on developing novel measurement and analysis methods to provide a closer look into the world of molecules.
Departments
The Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry currently encompasses 12 departments:
*
Patrick Cramer
Patrick Cramer (born 3 February 1969 in Stuttgart, West Germany) is a German chemist, structural biologist, and molecular systems biologist. In 2020, he was honoured to be an international member of the National Academy of Sciences. He became pres ...
– ''Molecular Biology''
In April, 2020,
Patrick Cramer
Patrick Cramer (born 3 February 1969 in Stuttgart, West Germany) is a German chemist, structural biologist, and molecular systems biologist. In 2020, he was honoured to be an international member of the National Academy of Sciences. He became pres ...
's team at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysical Chemistry created the first "3D structure of the corona polymerase"
for the COVID-19 virus. Their model will allow researchers "to investigate how antiviral drugs such as remdesivir – which blocks the polymerase – work, and to search for new inhibitory substances."
* Gregor Eichele – ''Genes and Behavior''
* Dirk Görlich – ''Cellular Logistics''
* Christian Griesinger – ''NMR-based Structural Biology''
* Helmut Grubmüller – ''Theoretical and Computational Biophysics''
*
Peter Gruss
Peter Gruss (born 28 June 1949) is a German developmental biologist, president of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, and the former president of the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft (having been elected for the term from 2002 to 2008 and ree ...
– ''Molecular Cell Biology''
*
Stefan W. Hell
Stefan Walter Hell HonFRMS (: born 23 December 1962) is a Romanian-German physicist and one of the directors of the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen, Germany. He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2014 "for the d ...
– ''NanoBiophotonics''
* Herbert Jäckle – ''Molecular Developmental Biology''
*
Reinhard Jahn
Reinhard Jahn (born 21 December 1950) is a German biophysicist and neurobiologist known for his studies of cellular membrane fusion. For these investigations, he has been honored with numerous awards, including the 2000 Leibniz Award. Jahn is ...
– ''Neurobiology''
* Reinhard Lührmann – ''Cellular Biochemistry''
*
Marina Rodnina
Marina V. Rodnina (born 19 November 1960) is a biochemist.
Life
Born in Kiev, Rodnina studied biology at the University of Kiev and obtained her PhD in molecular biology and genetics in 1989. From 1990 to 1992, she was a research fellow of the A ...
– ''Physical Biochemistry''
* Alec M. Wodtke – ''Dynamics at Surfaces''
Research groups
The Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry is particularly engaged in the support of junior scientists. 20 independent research groups pursue their own research goals.
* Loren B. Andreas – ''Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy''
* Gopalakrishnan Balasubramanian – ''Nanoscale Spin Imaging''
*
Marina Bennati – ''Electron-Spin Resonance Spectroscopy''
* Bert L. de Groot – ''Computational Biomolecular Dynamics''
* Alex Faesen – ''Biochemistry of Signal Dynamics''
*
Jens Frahm
Jens Frahm (born 29 March 1951 in Oldenburg, Germany) is a German biophysicist and physicochemist. He is Research Group Leader of the Biomedical NMR group at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Göttingen, Germany ( ...
– ''Biomedical NMR''
* Stefan Glöggler – ''NMR Signal Enhancement''
* Aljaz Godec – ''Mathematical Biophysics''
* Stefan Jakobs – ''Structure and Dynamics of Mitochondria''
* Peter Lenart – ''Cytoskeletal Dynamics in Oocytes''
* Juliane Liepe – ''Quantitative and Systems Biology''
* Grazvydas Lukinavicinus – ''Chromatin Labeling and Imaging''
* Samuel Meek – ''Precision Infrared Spectroscopy on Small Molecules''
* Vladimir Pena – ''Macromolecular Crystallography''
* Reinhard Schuh – ''Molecular Organogenesis''
* Johannes Söding – ''Quantitative and Computational Biology''
* Alexander Stein – ''Membrane Protein Biochemistry''
* Henning Urlaub – ''Bioanalytical Mass Spectrometry''
* Wolfgang Wintermeyer – ''Ribosome Dynamics''
* Markus Zweckstetter – ''Structure Determination of Proteins Using NMR''
Emeritus groups
After retiring, directors of the institute can actively continue their research for a couple of years.
* Herbert Jäckle – ''Molecular Developmental Biology''
* Reinhard Jahn – ''Laboratory of Neurobiology''
* Thomas Jovin – ''Laboratory of Cellular Dynamics''
* Reinhard Lührmann – ''Cellular Biochemistry''
*
Erwin Neher
Erwin Neher (; ; born 20 March 1944) is a German biophysicist, specializing in the field of cell physiology. For significant contribution in the field, in 1991 he was awarded, along with Bert Sakmann, the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for ...
– ''Membrane Biophysics''
*
Jürgen Troe – ''Spectroscopy and Photochemical Kinetics''
Former departments
The institute has undergone a permanent change in research with the closing of departments after their heads have retired and by continuously establishing new departments. Some of the former directors pursue their research even after their Emeritus Group has expired and can still be contacted at the institute (*).
*
Otto D. Creutzfeldt – ''Neurobiology'' (1971–1992)
*
Manfred Eigen
Manfred Eigen (; 9 May 1927 – 6 February 2019) was a German Biophysical chemistry, biophysical chemist who won the 1967 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for work on measuring fast chemical reactions.
Eigen's research helped solve major problems in ...
– ''Biochemical Kinetics (1971–1995)''
* Dieter Gallwitz – ''Molecular Genetics'' (1985–2004)
* Manfred Kahlweit – ''Kinetics of Phase Transformations'' (1971–1996)
*
Hans Kuhn – ''Molecular Systems'' (1971–1984)
*
Leo de Maeyer
Leo Carl Maria De Maeyer (8 December 1927 – 18 June 2014) was a Belgian physical chemist. He made an important contribution to the development of instrumental methods for the measurement of fast chemical reactions which led to the 1967 Nobel Pr ...
– ''Experimental Methods'' (1971–1996)
*
Bert Sakmann
Bert Sakmann (; born 12 June 1942) is a German cell physiologist. He shared the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Erwin Neher in 1991 for their work on "the function of single ion channels in cells," and the invention of the patch cla ...
– ''Cell Physiology'' (1985–1988)
*
Fritz-Peter Schäfer – ''Laser Physics'' (1971–1994)
* Hans Strehlow – ''Electrochemistry and Reaction Kinetics'' (1971–1984)
*
Klaus Weber
Klaus Weber (5 April 1936 – 8 August 2016) was a German scientist who made many fundamentally important contributions to biochemistry, cell biology, and molecular biology, and was for many years the director of the Laboratory of Biochemistry an ...
– ''Biochemistry and Cell Biology'' (1973–2004)
* Albert Weller – ''Spectroscopy'' (1971–1990)
*
Victor P. Whittaker – ''Neurochemistry'' (1973–1987)
Biomedizinische NMR Forschungs GmbH
The institute also accommodates the independent Biomedizinische NMR Forschungs GmbH headed by
Jens Frahm
Jens Frahm (born 29 March 1951 in Oldenburg, Germany) is a German biophysicist and physicochemist. He is Research Group Leader of the Biomedical NMR group at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Göttingen, Germany ( ...
, which was founded in 1993. The focus of this association is the development and application of spatially resolved NMR techniques for non-invasive studies of the central nervous system in animals and humans. These innovative approaches allow for unique insights into the structure, metabolism and function of the intact living brain. Jens Frahm and his coworkers invented a rapid acquisition technique for magnetic resonance imaging termed
FLASH MRI
Fast low angle shot magnetic resonance imaging (FLASH MRI) is a particular sequence of magnetic resonance imaging. It is a gradient echo sequence which combines a low-flip angle radio-frequency excitation of the nuclear magnetic resonance signal ( ...
(fast low angle shot) technique which allowed for a 100-fold reduction of the measuring times of cross-sectional and three-dimensional images. The FLASH technique led the ground for many modern MRI applications in diagnostic imaging.
International Max Planck Research Schools
In 2000, two International Max Planck Research Schools (IMPRS) were established together with the Georg August University Göttingen, the German Primate Center and the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine: the
IMPRS for Molecular Biology and the
IMPRS for Neurosciences
International Max Planck Research School for Neurosciences, also known as IMPRS for Neurosciences, is a 1½-year MSc program or a 4-year PhD program with a possibility to have MD-PhD degree for those who have completed a medical school. The fi ...
(in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization and the European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen). A third graduate school, the IMPRS for Physics of Biological and Complex Systems, was opened in 2008 (in cooperation with the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization).
References
External links
Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry
{{Authority control
Biophysical Chemistry
Biophysical chemistry is a physical science that uses the concepts of physics and physical chemistry for the study of biological systems. The most common feature of the research in this subject is to seek explanation of the various phenomena in ...
Biological research institutes
Biophysics organizations
1971 establishments in West Germany