Employees of the Max Delbrück Center

Our People

One Max Delbrück Center, more than 1,800 stories

Katja Simon
Science

A pioneer in immune cell rejuvenation

Cells continually renew themselves by “digesting” unused cellular material. This mechanism is called autophagy – an area in which immunologist Katja Simon has specialized. She has devised ways to use it to slow down the aging of immune cells.
Dominik Müller
Science

The salt scientist

Dominik Müller investigates how lifestyle affects the molecular regulation processes in the body – such as how a high-sodium diet impacts the immune system and cardiovascular health. In doing so, he deliberately transcends the boundaries between disciplines.
Carmen Birchmeier
Science

The cartographer of life

Muscle cells are very good at repairing damage. But if this fails, stem cells step in to regenerate the tissue. Carmen Birchmeier investigates the molecular signaling pathways that underlie these and other vital mechanisms.
Thoralf Niendorf hält die Nachbildung eines Herzen in der erhobenen Hand
Science

The image-maker

When physicist Thoralf Niendorf encounters the impossible, it spurs his creativity. Using ultra high-resolution MRI technology, he peers deeper and deeper into healthy and diseased tissue. He develops novel methods that visualize biological processes within the cell.
Thomas Sommer
Science

A trailblazer in protein recycling

Ubiquitin is everywhere. The protein regulates a vital cellular recycling system and plays a crucial role in health and disease. Thomas Sommer is investigating the molecular basis for its functioning, hoping to lay the scientific foundation for future therapies.
Klaus Rajewsky
Science

The gene virtuoso

Klaus Rajewsky’s life reads like a chronicle of immunogenetics. He grasped the opportunities offered by radical changes in molecular biology. He established standard methods for researching gene functions and diseases like cancer. And he continues to contribute to our understanding of antibody-producing B cells.
Jana Wolf
Science

The modeler of life

Jana Wolf draws on experimental data and the growing knowledge of cellular mechanisms to translate disease processes into mathematical models. Her models aim to represent the complexity of life as realistically as possible and to help develop therapies that are precisely tailored to the patient.
Dagmar Kainmüller
Science

The image analyst

Biomedicine today is awash with images and the tide is rising. Dagmar Kainmüller is teaching computers to see so that they can help with analyzing the image data. In the process, artificial intelligence is throwing up some unexpected questions that are opening up new lines of research in molecular biology.
Markus Landthaler
Science

The RNA profiler

In order to put their genetic blueprints into action, human cells need RNA-binding proteins. Markus Landthaler observes these proteins while they interact with RNA – in order to understand how they work, and how to make use of them.
Mina Gouti
Science

The tissue engineer

Mina Gouti uses stem cells to create three-dimensional cell structures called organoids that closely resemble some aspects of real human tissues. The organoids are well suited for testing new drugs to combat neuromuscular diseases and for developing personalized therapies to treat severely ill patients.

 

More researcher profiles

We at the MDC

The Max Delbrück Center is committed to providing an attractive work environment for all employees – with outstanding infrastructure, collaboration with leading researchers, and with a vibrant community. Our series introduces you to the diverse people who make this happen.
Aerial view of the Hatay Province in Turkey showing destructed buildings
Institute & Campus

“That was the only thing I could do”

In the weeks following the massive earthquake in Turkey and Syria, the victims received large amounts of international aid – including from the Max Delbrück Center. Now, three months later, the situation remains precarious and there is still an urgent need for assistance.
Group of people sitting around a table and facing the camera
Institute & Campus

Microscopy Workshops in Ghana

Peran Hayes, who took part in the "Back to the Roots Program", teaches students how to build their own microscope. For „We at the MDC”, he explains how a university course in Ghana has transformed into a West-African research network.
SooJin Anjou at the piano
Institute & Campus

An element of surprise and serendipity

The pianist SooJin Anjou and the scientist Nikolaus Rajewsky are both experts in their respective fields. Together, they have created the event series “Spark”: a concert and meet-up for creative people, an exploration to learn from both sides. On March 13th, the series continued at MDC-BIMSB.
Taisiia Kozak and Tetiana Lahuta
Science

“It is very hard to focus on science”

For Ukrainian graduate students, it can be a struggle to balance their careers and their worries about the war and their loved ones. A profile of two Ukrainian friends who work at the Max Delbrück Center now – one year after they had to flee from Kyiv.
Frau arbeitet an Probe
Science

Researching in tandem

Innovative biomedical research requires cutting-edge technologies, good ideas and a wealth of expertise. To ensure that technology platforms and research teams at the MDC make optimal use of investments and new equipment, Jutta Steinkötter initiated 13 “tandems” in late 2022 and awarded them a total of €300,000.
Kabel und Lichter
Institute & Campus

The digitalization man

Digitalization is in full swing, and the Max Delbrück Center is no exception. Arno Edinger and his team in the IT Department are responsible for implementing this process throughout the research center. The aim is not to digitalize employees out of existence, but rather to free them from annoying routine tasks that waste their time.
Gamze Güney vor den Forschungsgebäude, in dem sie arbeitet.
Institute & Campus

iNAMES promotes German-Israeli exchange

As a PhD student at the international iNAMES Research School, neuroscientist Gamze Güney is researching temperature perception at the Max Delbrück Center. As part of the “We at the MDC” series, Güney talks about the first iNAMES symposium at MDC-BIMSB and her time at the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel.
Ein Mann und eine Frau stehen in einer Grünanlage vor einem Gebäude
Institute & Campus

With patience and a green thumb

Viola Ehrig is the green-fingered gardener who works hard to ensure it’s not only science and innovation that flourish at the Berlin-Buch campus, but trees and flowers as well. She and her colleague Steve Kossack provide stimulating surroundings for everyone at the science campus, including employees of the MDC.
Somesh Sai, Tijana Perovic and Miriam Wandres
Institute & Campus

Joining forces, making changes

Giving voice to the academic, social, and economic needs of PhD students at the MDC – that is the goal of the PhD Representatives. Their main concerns include equality, diversity and inclusion, as well as a stronger sense of solidarity.
Kinder im Gläsernen Labor
Institute & Campus

A holiday for Ukrainian children

Isolate DNA, ask questions, make new friends: During the Easter holidays, refugee children and young people from Ukraine were able to take part in free experimentation courses and experience guided tours of MDC research laboratories at the Berlin-Buch Campus.

 

Further articles

Lunch Break

In our interview format "Lunch Break" we talk to young scientists about their path to the Max Delbrück Center, their interests and much more.
© Felix Petermann, MDC
© Felix Petermann, MDC
© Felix Petermann, MDC

Science and art have a lot in common, at least when you look at it from Anita Waltho's perspective. In the second episode of “LUNCH BREAK“, she talks cellular trash, creativity in science and Berlin-Brandenburg's lakes.

© Felix Petermann, MDC

Ian Erik Stewart doesn't like to completely give up work in his free time. Together with other scientists, he founded "EDGE" - an organisation dedicated to make neuroscience understandable through art. He reveals more in our new "Lunch Break" video series.

New at the MDC

Deborah Schmidt vor dem MDC-Hauptgebäude.
Institute & Campus

Pixels with stories to tell

The Image Data Analysis Platform has a new leader in Deborah Schmidt. She and her team create software that processes and analyzes image data from biomedicine, material sciences, or environmental research – something that benefits the entire Helmholtz Association.
Susanne Wolf im Labor
Institute & Campus

The hidden talents of microglia

As a visiting lab leader, biologist Susanne Wolf will spend five years at the Max Delbrück Center researching how microglia change in psychiatric diseases – and how these cells help the diseases develop and progress. In doing so, Wolf hopes to identify new targets for medicines.
Yoichiro Sugimoto
Science

How cells sense their surroundings

Yoichiro Sugimoto has headed the MDC lab “Molecular mechanisms of environment sensing” since July 2022. His team investigates how cells respond to changes in oxygen levels in their environment and what role disturbances to this system play in certain diseases.
Daria Bunina
Science

Cells gone astray

Daria Bunina has been the head of a new lab at the MDC since July 2022. Her team is researching how epigenetic factors affect cell differentiation. When errors in this process occur, cardiovascular diseases and neurodevelopmental disorders can result.
Maike Sander
Press Release No. 28 Berlin

Maike Sander named to lead the Max Delbrück Center

Maike Sander has been selected to direct the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC). The Supervisory Board appointed the diabetes researcher and professor of pediatrics and cellular and molecular medicine as the Scientific Director and Chair of the Board on June 16, 2022.
Hanna Zimmermann im Grünen
Science

A window onto the brain (and more)

Hanna Zimmermann has spent years studying how the retina can be used to diagnose neurodegenerative diseases. She is now starting her own research group, the Applied Research on the Visual System Lab, at the ECRC – and has also been named a junior professor at Charité. She will receive an endowed professorship from the Einstein Center Digital Future for this purpose.
Katja Simon
Science

Katja Simon seeks to rejuvenate the body’s immune defenses

In early April, Katja Simon became the head of the “Autophagy in the Immune System” laboratory at the MDC. She and her team are planning to research how long-lived immune cells use the process of self-digestion to continually renew themselves. Patients may soon benefit from their findings.
Dr. Séverine Kunz
Institute & Campus

Making the move from 2D to 3D

Her world is a gray one. Dr. Séverine Kunz uses electron microscopy to obtain black and white images from inside the cells and subcellular structures. She has dedicated herself to this hidden world and was recently named head of the MDC’s Electron Microscopy Platform.
Claudia Crocini
Science

Unraveling the mysteries of the heartbeat

Biotechnologist Claudia Crocini is starting a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship at the MDC in January 2022. Her research examines how the biomechanical properties of tissue ensure a healthy heartbeat. This might open up a new avenue for treating heart disease.
Lydia Dyck
Science

Giving tumors no place to hide

Cancer immunologist Lydia Dyck has started her Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship at the MDC. Her goal is to find new ways for the immune system to recognize and eliminate cancer cells, as tumors often evade the body’s defense mechanisms.

 

Further articles 

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