Wednesday, 10 December, 2014

Hendrik Dietz awarded Leibniz Prize

Extraordinary CeNS member wins Germanys most prestigious research award

 

The extraordinary CeNS member Prof. Hendrik Dietz (TUM) has been awarded the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation). The 36-year-old biophysicist is thus the recipient of Germanys most prestigious research award, which is endowed with 2.5 million euros. Hendrik Dietz is being honored for his internationally-renowned work in the field of bionanotechnology. His research into the mechanical and structural properties of proteins has opened up completely new horizons for the development of DNA-based nanomachines. A particularly outstanding aspect of Professor Dietzs research is its interdisciplinarity (biomolecular physics, biochemistry, molecular medicine).

The human cell mostly consists of large complex molecules like DNA and proteins, which are self-organizing. The associated information is contained in their sequence for example, in the base sequence and in their three-dimensional structure. In his research, Dietz focuses on the question as to how natures principle of programmable structure formation can be exploited for technological purposes.

Dietz and his team use DNA as a building material, which is folded in a special way using a kind of DNA origami and thereby converted into three-dimensional structures. They have developed methods that enable the very fast and accurate implementation of this process. The development of a synthetic channel for lipid membranes is one example which illustrates the potential offered by this research. This channel could enable the programmed perforation of cells or bacteria and be further developed for the targeted localization of biologically active molecules in the cell interior.

Source (based on): Press release TU München 
                            Press release NIM