Wolfram Saenger (born 1939) is a German

biochemist Biochemists are scientists who are trained in biochemistry. They study chemical processes and chemical transformations in living organisms. Biochemists study DNA, proteins and Cell (biology), cell parts. The word "biochemist" is a portmanteau of ...

and protein crystallographer. In his research career spanning over 30 years he has worked at 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 ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

(

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the graduate medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical Area of Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is one of the oldest medical schools in the United States and is consi ...

) and the

Free University of Berlin The Free University of Berlin (, often abbreviated as FU Berlin or simply FU) is a public research university in Berlin, Germany. It is consistently ranked among Germany's best universities, with particular strengths in political science and t ...

, where he led the Institute for Crystallography research until his retirement in 2011. A recipient of the

Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize (german: link=no, Förderpreis für deutsche Wissenschaftler im Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz-Programm der Deutschen Forschungsgemeinschaft), in short Leibniz Prize, is awarded by the German Research Foundation to ...

(1987) of the

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft The German Research Foundation (german: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ; DFG ) is a German research funding organization, which functions as a self-governing institution for the promotion of science and research in the Federal Republic of Germ ...

, which is the highest honor awarded for achievements in research in Germany, and

the Humboldt Prize The Humboldt Prize, the Humboldt-Forschungspreis in German, also known as the Humboldt Research Award, is an award given by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation of Germany to internationally renowned scientists and scholars who work outside of G ...

(1988), he is best known for his research on

X-ray crystallography X-ray crystallography is the experimental science determining the atomic and molecular structure of a crystal, in which the crystalline structure causes a beam of incident X-rays to diffract into many specific directions. By measuring the angles ...

membrane proteins Membrane proteins are common proteins that are part of, or interact with, biological membranes. Membrane proteins fall into several broad categories depending on their location. Integral membrane proteins are a permanent part of a cell membrane ...

and protein-nucleic acid complexes. He has authored 10 books, including the venerated book 'Principles of Nucleic Acid Structure' published by

Springer Springer or springers may refer to: Publishers * Springer Science+Business Media, aka Springer International Publishing, a worldwide publishing group founded in 1842 in Germany formerly known as Springer-Verlag. ** Springer Nature, a multinationa ...

, and over 500 scientific articles. He is a fellow of the

IUPAC The International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC ) is an international federation of National Adhering Organizations working for the advancement of the chemical sciences, especially by developing nomenclature and terminology. It is ...

and the

National Academy of Sciences The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) is a United States nonprofit, non-governmental organization. NAS is part of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, along with the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) and the Nati ...

Partial list of major scientific contributions

# Water Molecule in Hydrophobic Surroundings: Structure of alpha-Cyclodextrin-Hexahydrate (C₆H₁₀O₅)₆·6H₂O, Nature, 1972 # Circular hydrogen bonds, Nature, 1979 # Specific protein-nucleic acid recognition in ribonuclease T1−2'-guanylic acid complex: an X-ray study, Nature 1982 # DNA conformation is determined by economics in the hydration of phosphate groups, Nature 1986 # Long-range structural changes in proteinase K triggered by calcium ion removal, Nature 1989 # Three-dimensional structure of the E. coli DMA-binding protein FIS, Nature 1991 # Three-dimensional structure of system I of photosynthesis at 6 Å resolution, Nature 1993 # Crystal structure of beta-D-cellotetraose hemihydrate with implications for the structure of cellulose II, Science 1994 # Structure of the Tet repressor-tetracycline complex and regulation of antibiotic resistance, Science 1994 # Characterization of non-inducible Tet repressor mutants suggests conformational changes necessary for induction, Nature Structural Biology 1995 # Photosystem I at 4 Å resolution represents the first structural model of a joint photosynthetic reaction centre and core antenna system, Nature Structural Biology 1996 # Structural basis of gene regulation by the tetracycline inducible Tet repressor− operator system, Nature Structural Biology 2000 # Crystal structure of photosystem II from Synechococcus elongatus at 3.8 Å resolution, Nature 2001 # Three-dimensional structure of cyanobacterial Photosystem I at 2.5 Å resolution, Nature 2001 # Towards complete cofactor arrangement in the 3.0 Å resolution structure of photosystem II, Nature 2005 # Where water is oxidized to dioxygen: structure of the photosynthetic Mn4Ca cluster, Science 2006 # Cyanobacterial photosystem II at 2.9 Å resolution and the role of quinones, lipids, channels and chloride, Nature Structural & Molecular Biology 2009

External links

Research Group of Prof. Wolfram Saenger
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saenger, Wolfram 1939 births Living people German biochemists Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize winners Harvard Medical School alumni