Christian Haass

Christian Haass (born December 19, 1960 in Mannheim ) is a German biochemist specializing in metabolic biochemistry and neuroscience .

Professional activity

Haass studied biology in Heidelberg from 1981 to 1985 . From 1990 he worked as a postdoc in Dennis Selkoe's laboratory at Harvard Medical School, where he was an assistant professor from 1993 to 1995. He then returned to Germany and initially became a C3 professor for molecular biology at the Central Institute for Mental Health in Mannheim. In 1999 he was appointed to the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich to succeed Martin Klingenberg ; Haass teaches and researches there as a C4 professor at the Adolf Butenandt Institute of the Medical Faculty. The focus of his research laboratory is on the elucidation of the molecular mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease . With the establishment of an aquarium system funded by the German Research Foundation, the molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases are being investigated with the help of the zebrafish as a model animal. Furthermore, Parkinson's disease is being researched using a transgenic mouse model. With his research, Haass has gained insights that form the basis for realistic therapeutic approaches in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. Haass is a member of various scientific organizations; Among other things, he is an elected member of the European Molecular Biology Organization and a member of the board of trustees of the Hans and Ilse Breuer Foundation . As site spokesman, Christian Haass represents the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) in Munich. In 2003 he was elected a member of the Leopoldina . Haass is a member of the Foundation Board of the VERUM Foundation .