Faculty at the Max Planck School Matter to Life

In the Matter to Life Program, you will receive first-class training, highly interdisciplinary teaching and research opportunities from outstanding experts across Germany. Our faculty is currently constituted of 50 Fellows and 11 Adjunct Fellows.
Below you will find a list of all MPS MtL Fellows, i.e. your potential PhD supervisors. Please visit the websites of the respective partner institutions to learn more about the research work of a specific Fellow.

Karen Alim

Technical University of Munich

MtL research focus:
Biological Physics: Self-Organization of Shape and Function

Philippe Bastiaens

Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund & TU Dortmund University

MtL research focus:
Out-of-equilibrium biochemical 'life-like' systems

Andreas Bausch

Technical University of Munich

MtL research focus:
Organoids & Active Cytoskeletal Systems

Timo Betz

University of Göttingen

MtL research focus:
Active mechanics of cells and cellular assemblies

Eberhard Bodenschatz

Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen & University of Göttingen

MtL research focus:
Fluid Physics, Pattern Formation and Biocomplexity

Heike Böhm

Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg

MtL research focus:
Glycans in Synthetic Biology

Job Boekhoven

Technical University of Munich

MtL research focus:
Synthesis of Life

Dieter Braun

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

MtL research focus:
We are performing physico-chemical experiments to recreate Darwinian evolution from scratch. Our goal is to provide a working model of how life could have originated from a few RNA nucleotides in the volcanic environments of the early Earth. This will also reveal novel biotechnological applications, an example from the past is NanoTemper Technologies.

Michael Boutros

German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Heidelberg & Heidelberg University

MtL research focus:
Engineering of genomes and tissues

E. Ada Cavalcanti-Adam

University of Bayreuth & Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg

MtL research focus:
Molecular and Cellular Mechanobiology

Peter Comba

Heidelberg University

MtL research focus:
Inorganic Biochemistry and Imaging

Laura De Laporte

DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Aachen & RWTH Aachen University

MtL research focus:
Advanced Materials for Biomedicine

Hendrik Dietz

Technical University of Munich

MtL research focus:
Biomolecular Self-Assembly & Controlling Molecular Motions

Stefan Diez

TU Dresden

MtL Research Focus:
Molecular Transport in Cell Biology and Nanotechnology

Tobias Erb

Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg & University of Marburg

MtL reseach focus:
Synthetic Biochemistry: New-to-nature Enzymes, Synthetic Pathways & Articifial Cells for CO2 fixation

Erwin Frey

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

MtL research focus:
Theoretical Physics of Living Systems: Self-organisation, Fluctuations, and Pattern Formation

Kerstin Göpfrich

Heidelberg University & Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg

MtL research focus:
Biophysical Engineering of Synthetic Cells with DNA Nanotechnology and 3D Printing

Ramin Golestanian

Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, Göttingen & University of Göttingen

MtL research focus:
Living Matter Physics

Frauke Gräter

Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS) & Heidelberg University

MtL research focus:
Molecular Mechanisms of Mechano-Sensing

Stephan Grill

Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden & Technical University Dresden

MtL research focus:
Physics of life - Self-organization of living matter

Helmut Grubmüller

Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen & University of Göttingen

MtL research focus:
Biomolecular mechanism and function by theoretical biophysics and computer simulations

Michael Grunze

Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg & em. Heidelberg University

MtL research focus:
Biointerface Science

Jochen Guck

Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light, Erlangen & Technical University Dresden

MtL research focus:
Biological optomechanics

Stefan Hell

Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Göttingen & University of Göttingen, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg & Heidelberg University

MtL research focus:
Optical nanoscopy

Andreas Herrmann

DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Aachen & RWTH Aachen University

MtL research focus:
Macromolecular Materials and Systems – Sonopharmacology and Sonogenetics

Anthony Hyman

Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, Dresden & Technical University Dresden

MtL research focus:
Biomolecular Condensates

Copyright picture: Sven Döring

Karin Jacobs

University of Saarland

MtL research focus:
Experimental soft matter and biophysics: Adhesion of biomolecules and bacteria and parasites

Andreas Janshoff

University of Göttingen

MtL research focus:
Mechanics of Living Matter

Kai Johnsson

Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg & École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne

MtL research focus:
Chemical Biology

Frank Jülicher

Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, Dresden & Technical University Dresden

Stefan Klumpp

University of Göttingen

MtL research focus:
Theoretical Biophysics - Physical basis of biological function

Sarah Köster

University of Göttingen

MtL research focus:
Cellular Biophysics - Mechanics and Dynamics of the Cytoskeleton

Hans-Georg Kräusslich

Heidelberg University Hospital

MtL research focus:
Retroviral and Influenza Virus (IAV) Biology

Katharina Landfester

Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research, Mainz

MtL research focus:
Nanoparticle protein interaction & Nanocarriers for drug delivery

Reinhard Lipowsky

Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces, Potsdam & University of Potsdam, Humboldt University, Berlin

MtL research focus:
Hidden dimensions of self-organization

Martin Möller

DWI - Leibniz Institute for Interactive Materials, Aachen & RWTH Aachen University

MtL research focus:
Oligomer and Polymer building blocks for medicine and biological application

Marcus Müller

University of Göttingen

MtL research focus:
Statistical Physics and Simulation of Biological and Soft Matter

Andrea Musacchio

Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund & University of Duisburg-Essen

MtL research focus:
In vitro reconstitution of cell division

Joachim Rädler

Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich

MtL research focus:
Soft Matter Physics and Lipid Nanoscience in Living Systems

Matthias Rief

Technical University of Munich

MtL research focus:
Molecular Biophysics - Function and Folding processes of proteins

Tim Salditt

University of Göttingen

MtL research focus:
Structure of biomolecular assemblies and X-ray imaging

Franziska Schoenebeck

RWTH Aachen University

MtL research focus:
Origins of chemical phenomena at a molecular level. Synthesis and homogeneous catalysis

Ulrich Schubert

University of Jena

MtL research focus:
Materials for Life Science

Ulrich Schwarz

Heidelberg University

MtL research focus:
Soft Matter and biological physics - Forces and elasticity in cell adhesion

Petra Schwille

Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Munich & Technical University of Munich

MtL research focus:
Cell and Membrane Biophysics & Synthetic Biology

Christine Selhuber-Unkel

Heidelberg University

MtL research focus:
Molecular Systems Engineering - Materials and Bioenvironments

Copyright picture: Universität Heidelberg, Kommunikation und Marketing

Friedrich Simmel

Technical University of Munich

MtL research focus:
Physics of synthetic biosystems

Victor Sourjik

Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg & University of Marburg

Joachim Spatz

Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Heidelberg & Heidelberg University

MtL research focus:
Cellular Biophysics - Engineering of Synthetic Cells

Claudia Steinem

Göttingen University

MtL research focus:
Biomolecular Chemistry

Jörg Stülke

University of Göttingen

MtL research focus:

Our research focuses on the holistic understanding of a simple organism, the model bacterium Bacillus subtilis. We try to achieve this goal by a combination of different approaches:

- Reduction of the genome to the possible minimum
- Investigation of unknown proteins and functions
- Identification and characterization of protein-protein interactions at a global scale
- Development of genome annotation tools and databases