Former Departments of the MPI-EM
Friedrich Cramer († 2003)
Chemistry (1962-1991)
Friedrich Cramer was one of the defining chemists of the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine and a pioneer of modern bioorganic chemistry in Germany. His work connected organic chemistry with biological questions and contributed substantially to applying chemical principles to molecular processes of life. Scientifically, he focused in particular on nucleic acid chemistry, molecular recognition, and the principles of biological self-organization. Beyond his experimental research, he became widely known for theoretical and philosophical contributions addressing biological complexity, evolution, and the culture of science.
Under his leadership, the Department of Chemistry developed into an interdisciplinary research environment at the interface of chemistry, biochemistry, and molecular biology. During his nearly three decades at the institute, Friedrich Cramer significantly shaped its scientific development in a period of profound transformation of the life sciences toward molecularly oriented research approaches.
Friedrich Cramer was born in Frankfurt am Main in 1923. He studied chemistry at the Universities of Frankfurt and Marburg and obtained his doctorate in organic chemistry after the Second World War. Following additional scientific positions and international research stays, he completed his habilitation in chemistry before being appointed Director at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen in 1962. There he led the Department of Chemistry until his retirement in 1991. Alongside his experimental work, Cramer was deeply engaged in scientific and societal discussions concerning the responsibility of the natural sciences. He passed away in 2003.
Günter von Ehrenstein († 1980)
Molecular Biology (1968-1980)
Günter von Ehrenstein belonged to the early pioneers of molecular biology in Germany. With the establishment of the Department of Molecular Biology at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, he introduced modern molecular and developmental biological research approaches to Göttingen during a period of major transformation in the life sciences. His early work focused on mechanisms of gene expression and translation, and later increasingly on the developmental biology of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, which at the time was emerging as a new model organism in experimental biology. The approaches developed in his department for the analysis of embryonic cell lineages and early developmental processes contributed substantially to establishing Göttingen as an internationally recognized center of modern molecular and developmental biology.
Von Ehrenstein was born in 1925 and studied chemistry and biochemistry in the United States. Following scientific work in the early molecular biology community, he conducted research on protein synthesis and gene expression. Before his appointment in Göttingen, he held positions at several international research institutions and belonged to the generation of scientists who introduced molecular biology to Germany. In 1968 he became Director of the Department of Molecular Biology at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine. Under his leadership, the department developed into an internationally visible center of early molecular and developmental biological research. Günter von Ehrenstein passed away during his tenure in December 1980.
Norbert Hilschmann († 2012)
Immunchemistry (1971-1999)
Norbert Hilschmann belonged to the internationally visible generation of German biochemists in the field of molecular immunology. In the 1960s, while working in the United States, he was among the first scientists to determine the amino acid sequence of antibody chains, thereby contributing fundamentally to the understanding of the structure and diversity of immunoglobulins. Together with Lyman Craig at Rockefeller University, he achieved the complete amino acid sequencing of antibody light chains and Bence-Jones proteins, making the molecular architecture of antibody molecules visible for the first time. Under Hilschmann’s leadership, the Department of Immunochemistry at the MPI later developed into a major center of molecular immunology in Germany. The department’s work exemplified the transition from classical biochemical protein analysis to molecularly oriented immunology.
Norbert Hilschmann was born in Nuremberg in 1931. He studied chemistry and biochemistry in Munich. After several international research stays, he completed his habilitation in biochemistry before being appointed Director at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen in 1971. There he led the Department of Immunochemistry until his retirement in 1999. Hilschmann passed away in Göttingen in 2012.
Werner Koll († 1968)
Pharmacology (1949-1968)
Werner Koll was among the defining scientists of the early postwar period at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine and led the Department of Pharmacology during the institute’s formative years. His scientific work focused particularly on the pharmacology of pain conduction and the effects of analgesics within the central nervous system. His studies on the spinal processing of nociceptive signals were among the early contributions to understanding central mechanisms of pain inhibition. Under his leadership, pharmacology became an important component of the institute’s interdisciplinary research profile. The department’s work helped introduce modern experimental methods into pharmacological research during the transition from classical medical research toward more biochemically and molecularly oriented approaches.
Werner Koll was born in Kiel in 1902. He studied medicine and early turned toward experimental pharmacology. After scientific and clinical activities as well as research in pharmacology and physiology, he was appointed Director at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen in 1949, where he founded the Department of Pharmacology. His tenure coincided with the reconstruction phase of the newly founded Max Planck Society after the Second World War and contributed substantially to the development of the institute into a modern center of experimental medicine.
During the Second World War, Werner Koll worked in Danzig in the context of military medical research. Based on currently accessible sources, there is no evidence of involvement in unethical human experimentation. Koll led the department until 1968 and died in the same year after retiring from active directorship.
Heinrich Matthaei († 2025)
Molecular Genetics (1973-1982)
Heinrich Matthaei was among the internationally significant pioneers of early molecular biology. He became particularly well known for his fundamental contributions to deciphering the genetic code. Together with Marshall W. Nirenberg, Matthaei carried out the classical experiments in 1961 that first demonstrated that synthetic RNA can direct the synthesis of specific proteins. The discovery that poly-uracil directs the formation of polyphenylalanine represented a decisive breakthrough in understanding the translation of genetic information into proteins and is regarded as a milestone of modern molecular biology.
In 1973 Heinrich Matthaei was appointed Director at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen, where he led the Department of Molecular Genetics. The department focused on mechanisms of gene expression and protein synthesis as well as fundamental questions of molecular genetics, thereby contributing significantly to strengthening molecular biological research at the institute.
Heinrich Matthaei was born in Bonn in 1929. He studied medicine in Frankfurt am Main, Innsbruck, and Tübingen and obtained his doctorate in biochemistry. After scientific work in Germany, he moved to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, USA, where together with Marshall Nirenberg he conducted the groundbreaking work on deciphering the genetic code. He was appointed Director at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in 1973. Although he led the Department of Molecular Genetics until 1982, he ended his directorship prematurely for health reasons. Heinrich Matthaei passed away in Göttingen in 2025.
Bruno Ochwadt († 1971)
Kidney Physiology (1970)
Bruno Ochwadt was a physician and physiologist specializing in experimental renal physiology. His scientific work focused particularly on mechanisms of renal filtration, the regulation of water and electrolyte balance, and micropuncture studies of nephron function. Through these studies, he contributed to the development of modern experimental approaches in nephrology and belonged to the generation of researchers who closely connected physiological basic research with clinical nephrology.
Born in 1920, Ochwadt worked at the University of Göttingen from 1954 onward and collaborated closely with the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in the fields of physiology and nephrology even before his appointment. In 1970 he became a Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society and established a department at the institute, which existed only for a short period. Ochwadt died in 1971.
Johannes Piieper († 2012)
Physiology (1964-1992)
Johannes Piiper was one of the internationally leading physiologists in the fields of respiratory and high-altitude physiology. His scientific work focused particularly on the transport and exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the lung, blood, and tissues, as well as on the physiological foundations of adaptation to physical exercise and high-altitude environments. Through his theoretical and experimental studies, he contributed substantially to the quantitative understanding of gas exchange and oxygen supply in the organism.
Under his leadership, the Department of Physiology at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine developed into an internationally visible center of respiratory and comparative physiology. Piiper combined precise mathematical modeling with experimental physiology and thereby shaped the modern integrative understanding of respiration, circulation, and metabolism. His work found broad application in sports medicine, high-altitude medicine, intensive care medicine, and comparative animal physiology.
Johannes Piiper was born in Tartu, Estonia, in 1924. He studied medicine and natural sciences in Göttingen and early specialized in physiology. After scientific work in respiratory physiology and international research stays, he became an assistant at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen in 1953 and was appointed Director in 1964, leading the Department of Physiology. During his nearly three decades in office, he played a major role in shaping modern respiratory physiology in Germany. Johannes Piiper passed away in 2012.
Wolfgang Schroedel († 1974)
Physiology (1949-1973)
Wolfgang Schoedel belonged to the defining physiologists of the early postwar era. His scientific work focused particularly on circulatory physiology, muscle physiology, exercise physiology, and the functional adaptation of the organism to physical stress. Through his research, he helped establish modern quantitative methods in experimental physiology in postwar Germany.
Under his leadership, the Department of Physiology became an important component of the institute’s interdisciplinary research profile. Schoedel promoted the integration of experimental physiological methods with medically relevant questions and played a central role in shaping physiological research at the institute during the formative years of the Max Planck Society.
Wolfgang Schoedel was born in Chemnitz in 1905. He studied medicine in Freiburg and early specialized in physiology, working from 1933 onward at the Institute of Physiology of the University of Göttingen. During the Second World War, he worked as an air force physician and physiologist in the context of aviation medical research under the Reich Air Ministry. After the war, he became head of a department at the Medical Research Institute of the Max Planck Society in Göttingen in 1948 and subsequently Director of the newly founded Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, where he led the Department of Physiology until 1973. Wolfgang Schoedel passed away in 1974.
Joachim Spiess
Molecular Neuroendocrinology (1987–2005)
Joachim Spiess belonged to the leading neuroendocrinologists of his generation. His scientific work focused on the molecular basis of neuropeptidergic signaling and on the regulation of hormonal and neuronal stress responses in the brain. He became particularly well known for contributions to the identification and characterization of neuropeptides and their receptors, including important work on the corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) system and related signaling pathways involved in stress physiology.
Under his leadership, the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine developed into a center of molecular neurobiology. The department combined biochemical, molecular genetic, and neurophysiological approaches to investigate neuronal stress and regulatory mechanisms and contributed substantially to understanding neuroendocrine signaling networks.
Joachim Spiess was born in 1949. He studied chemistry and biochemistry and early turned toward molecular neurobiology. After scientific work in Germany and the United States, including research at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, he was appointed Director at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen in 1987. There he led the Department of Molecular Neuroendocrinology until 2005.
Walter Stühmer
Department of Molecular Biology of Neuronal Signals (1992-2016)
Walter Stühmer is among the leading biophysicists in the field of ion channel-mediated signaling. His early scientific work focused on the molecular and functional characterization of voltage-gated ion channels and their role in neuronal excitability, synaptic communication, and cellular signaling processes. Among his most important contributions are pioneering studies on the cloning and functional analysis of neuronal potassium and calcium channels, as well as electrophysiological investigations of their properties.
In later years, the department also explored newly discovered roles of ion channels in tumor cells. These studies demonstrated that ion channels are not only essential for electrical excitability but also contribute to tumor cell proliferation, migration, and invasiveness.
Walter Stühmer was born in Bogotá, Colombia, in 1948. He studied physics and biophysics at the Technical University of Munich and early specialized in experimental neurobiology. After scientific work in St. Louis, USA, and at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen in the department of Erwin Neher, he was appointed Director at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in 1992. He led the Department of Molecular Biology of Neuronal Signals until 2016.
Thomas C. Südhof
Molecular Neurobiology (1995-1998)
Thomas C. Südhof is among the most influential neurobiologists of his generation. His scientific work revolutionized the understanding of synaptic transmission and the molecular mechanisms underlying neuronal communication. He became especially well known for the identification and functional characterization of key proteins involved in synaptic vesicle release, including synaptotagmins, neurexins, and other components of the presynaptic release machinery. His studies contributed fundamentally to explaining calcium-dependent neurotransmitter release at the molecular level.
With Südhof’s appointment to the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, molecular neurobiology became further strengthened as an international research focus of the institute. The Department of Molecular Neurobiology combined molecular genetic, biochemical, and cell biological approaches to investigate synaptic functions and neuronal networks. The concepts developed by Südhof and his group had a lasting impact on the modern understanding of synaptic organization and neuronal information processing.
Thomas C. Südhof was born in Göttingen in 1955. He studied medicine at the University of Göttingen and obtained his doctorate in neurochemistry. After early research work at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, he moved to the United States, where he worked at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas. In 1995 he became a Scientific Member of the Max Planck Society and Director of the Department of Molecular Neurobiology at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen. In 1998 he returned permanently to the United States. For his groundbreaking work on synaptic transmission, Thomas C. Südhof was awarded the 2013 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine together with James Rothman and Randy Schekman.
Karl Thomas († 1969)
Biochemistry (1949-1958)
Karl Thomas belonged to the defining biochemists and nutritional physiologists of the early postwar period at the newly founded Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen. His earlier scientific work focused on metabolic processes and protein metabolism. He became particularly well known for developing the concept of the “biological value” of dietary proteins, which had a lasting influence on modern nutritional physiology. His studies demonstrated that the quality of a protein depends substantially on its amino acid composition and on the efficiency with which it can be incorporated into endogenous body proteins.
Karl Thomas was born in Freiburg im Breisgau in 1883. He studied medicine in Freiburg and Munich and early turned toward physiological chemistry and biochemistry. After scientific and academic positions at the University of Leipzig, he was appointed founding director of the new Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in Göttingen in 1949. The work of his Department of Biochemistry combined chemical, physiological, and medical questions and contributed to reintegrating modern biochemical methods into the German scientific landscape after the Second World War. Karl Thomas passed away in Göttingen in 1969.
Walter Vogt († 2012)
Biochemical Pharmocology (1965-1986)
Walther Vogt’s scientific work focused on the biochemical basis of inflammatory processes as well as the function of biologically active lipid mediators and complement factors. He became particularly well known for his work on the biosynthesis and biological actions of prostaglandins and other inflammatory mediators. His research addressed biologically active lipid mediators, inflammatory processes, and the complement system. Through these studies, his department contributed substantially to understanding the biosynthesis of eicosanoids and the activation and function of central components of the innate immune system.
Walther Vogt was born in Dessau in 1918. He studied medicine in Marburg and Munich and initially worked at the Institute of Pharmacology in Frankfurt am Main after the Second World War. In 1953 he joined the Medical Research Institute of the Max Planck Society in Göttingen, completed his habilitation in 1954, and spent 1955/56 as a visiting scientist at the MRC National Institute for Medical Research in London. In 1968 he succeeded Werner Koll as Director at the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine, where he led the Department of Biochemical Pharmacology until his retirement in 1986. Walther Vogt passed away in Göttingen in 2012.
Günther Weitzel († 1984)
Biochemistry of Trace Elements (1953-1984)
Günther Weitzel was a pioneer of trace element research in Germany. His scientific work focused on the biochemical importance of essential trace elements and metals for metabolic processes, enzyme functions, and the regulation of biological systems. Under his leadership, the Department of Trace Element Biochemistry developed into a center of metal-related biochemistry and nutritional research. The department’s work combined biochemical, physiological, and analytical approaches to investigate the role of trace elements in the organism and made important contributions to understanding their influence on metabolism, development, and health.
Günther Weitzel was born in Leipzig in 1915. He first studied medicine and later chemistry, receiving his doctorate under Karl Thomas. After a period in Erlangen, he joined the Max Planck Institute for Experimental Medicine in 1949, where he was appointed in 1953 and established the Department of Trace Element Biochemistry. Already in 1954 he moved to the University of Giessen and, in 1957, succeeded Adolf Butenandt at the University of Tübingen. There he founded the world’s first dedicated degree program in biochemistry. Günther Weitzel passed away in Tübingen in 1984.