Günther KH Zupanc

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Günther Zupanc in 2009

Günther KH Zupanc (born October 20, 1958 in Augsburg ) is a neurobiologist , university professor , author of numerous books, publisher of scientific journals and initiator of several reforms in the education sector. He works as a professor in the Department of Biology at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts (USA).

Journalistic activity

After graduating from high school near Sankt Stephan in Augsburg and doing military service in Murnau , Günther Zupanc worked as a science journalist at Münchner Merkur and as a freelancer for numerous German daily and weekly newspapers, magazines and book publishers. For his article “His second home is 'Neritica' in the Red Sea”, he received first prize in the Science Reporter competition in 1980 .

Education

Günther Zupanc studied biology and physics at the University of Regensburg . He received his doctorate in neuroscience from the University of California, San Diego , (1990) and habilitated in animal physiology from the University of Tübingen (1995).

academic career

Günther Zupanc worked as a research assistant and scientist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California (1987–1992), as a group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen (1992–1997), as a senior lecturer (this corresponds to a W2 -Professorship at state German universities) at the University of Manchester in the United Kingdom (1997–2002) and as a full professor (this corresponds to a W3 professorship at state German universities) at the International University Bremen (which was renamed Jacobs University Bremen in 2007 ) ).

Zupanc has been a professor at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts (USA) since 2009, where he headed the Faculty of Biology from 2009 to 2012.

He was also visiting professor at the Medical Faculty of the University of Ottawa in Canada (1994–1997) and visiting scholar at the University of California, San Diego , the University of Chicago , the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Physiology , the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Scripps Research Institute (both in La Jolla, California), Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, and Jacobs University Bremen .

Research work

Zupanc has made a name for himself through his research in several areas of biology, particularly neuroethology, neuroanatomy, neuroendocrinology and developmental neurobiology.

During his doctoral thesis, he showed that seasonal changes in specific behaviors that occur during social interactions in animals are associated with marked changes in the structure of nerve cells that control this behavior in the brain.

The behavior of weak-electric fish is the focus of numerous research projects that he and his working group have carried out. These investigations have led, among other things, to the discovery of a previously unknown behavior, the echo reaction.

In the field of neuroendocrinology, Zupanc and his cooperation partners succeeded in cloning and pharmacologically characterizing the first somatostatin neuropeptide receptor in a non-mammal.

His working group developed a novel in vitro method for identifying and characterizing neuronal connections in the brain. Based on this approach, numerous previously unknown nerve pathways were discovered in the brain of bony fish.

Since the early 1990s, Zupanc's group has distinguished itself through its pioneering work in the field of research into the phenomenon of adult neurogenesis (the formation of new nerve cells in the adult central nervous system) in bony fish. He and his colleagues carried out the first mapping of proliferation zones in the adult brain of vertebrates (1995) and established zebrafish (2005) and tilapia cichlids (2012) as new model systems for researching adult neurogenesis. As an attempt to explain the biological function of adult neurogenesis, Zupanc developed the matching hypothesis . The core element of this model is the statement that neurogenesis in the adult central nervous system is caused by the continuous formation of new muscle cells and sensory receptor cells in the periphery. In order to ensure a constant ratio of the motor and sensory elements in the periphery and the neural elements in the central nervous system, every numerical change in the periphery results in a corresponding numerical change (degeneration or new formation of nerve cells) in the central nervous system.

He and his team showed that the continuous formation of new neurons in the adult central nervous system in bony fish is closely linked to the high regenerative capacity of this taxonomic group. This ability includes both the regeneration of nerve tissue and the restoration of behavioral functions that have been lost due to brain trauma or spinal cord injuries. Using a proteomic approach, Zupanc's group succeeded in analyzing changes in global protein expression on a large scale and identifying numerous proteins that are potentially involved in the regulation of regenerative processes in the central nervous system.

Günther Zupanc's research is characterized by a multidisciplinary approach - the methods and concepts that are used in his scientific investigations come from a broad spectrum of scientific disciplines, such as molecular biology, cell biology, neuroanatomy, neurophysiology, computational neuroscience, behavioral neurobiology, biophysics and analytical chemistry.

Editor of scientific journals

Günther Zupanc was editor of the Journal of Zoology from 2007 to 2011 and has been editor of the Journal of Comparative Physiology-A since 2008 . He has also edited special issues for the scientific journals Brain, Behavior and Evolution , Journal of Comparative Physiology-A, and European Journal of Neuroscience . Zupanc served on the editorial board of the journals Brain, Behavior and Evolution and Journal of Comparative Physiology-A . He currently serves on the advisory boards of the journals Regenerative Medicine and the Journal of Neurorestoratology .

author

Günther Zupanc published his first work, Fish and Their Behavior , in 1982 - at a time when he was still a student . This book, which also appeared in an English edition ( Fish and Their Behavior ), became a bestseller. Practical behavioral biology followed in 1988 , for which Zupanc was responsible as editor. This collection of internship instructions, written by renowned authors, has developed into a standard work within the framework of the training of biology students at German-speaking universities. His most recent work Behavioral Neurobiology: An Integrative Approach (2004; 2nd edition 2010) is the world's most widely used textbook in the field of behavioral neurobiology . In a book review in the journal Integrative and Comparative Biology , it was described as a "milestone in neuroethological literature".

Education policy activities

Günther Zupanc was among the first professors to be appointed to the International University Bremen after it was founded in 2001. Due to its unique international orientation and the combination of elements from European and American higher education systems, this university has quickly gained an excellent reputation. As a full professor of neurobiology , Zupanc played an important role in the development and establishment of the biology course at this institution. In 2009, this course received the best rating of all biology study programs evaluated by the Center for Higher Education (CHE). Zupanc was also known for his publications on the didactics of biology, the history of science, internationalization in education and university policy.

Personal

Günther KH Zupanc is married to Marianne Zupanc, a microbiologist and teacher at an international school. They have three children together, Frederick, Christina and Daniel.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ "Reporters of Science" . In: The time . No. 21/1980 ( online ).
  2. ^ Günther KH Zupanc: 1st prize in the "Reporter of Science" competition: His second home is called "Neritica" . In: The time . No. 21/1980 ( online ).
  3. ↑ http://www.oup.com/uk/orc/bin/9780199208302/01student/author_biography/
  4. ^ Zupanc, GKH, Heiligenberg, WF: Sexual maturity-dependent changes in neuronal morphology in the prepacemaker nucleus of adult weakly electric knifefish, Eigenmannia . Journal of Neuroscience 9 , 3816-3827 (1989)
  5. ↑ Zupanc, GKH, Sîrbulescu, RF, Nichols, A., Ilies, IV: Electric interactions through chirping behavior in the weakly electric fish, Apteronotus leptorhynchus . Journal of Comparative Physiology A 192 , 159-173 (2006)
  6. ↑ Zupanc, GKH, Siehler, S., Jones, EMC, Seuwen, K., Furuta, H., Hoyer, D., Yano, H .: Molecular cloning and pharmacological characterization of a somatostatin receptor subtype in the gymnotiform fish Apteronotus albifrons . General and Comparative Endocrinology 115 , 333-345 (1999)
  7. ^ Zupanc, GKH: An in vitro technique for tracing neuronal connections in the teleost brain. Brain Research Protocols 3 , 37-51 (1998)
  8. ↑ Zupanc, GKH, Zupanc, MM: Birth and migration of neurons in the central posterior / pre-pacemaker nucleus during adulthood in weakly electric knifefish, Eigenmannia sp. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 89 , 9539-9543 (1992)
  9. ↑ Zupanc, WBH, Horschke, I .: proliferation zones in the brain of adult fish gymnotiform: a quantitative mapping study. Journal of Comparative Neurology 353 , 213-233 (1995)
  10. ↑ Zupanc, GKH, Hinsch, K., Gage, FH: Proliferation, migration, neuronal differentiation, and long-term survival of new cells in the adult brain of zebrafish. Journal of Comparative Neurology 488 , 290-319 (2005)
  11. ↑ Teles, MC, Sîrbulescu, RF, Wellbrock, UM, Oliveira RF, Zupanc, GKH: Adult neurogenesis in the brain of the Mozambique Tilapia, Oreochromis mossambicus . Journal of Comparative Physiology-A 198 , 427-449 (2012)
  12. ^ Zupanc, GKH: Adult neurogenesis and neuronal regeneration in teleost fish. Brain, Behavior and Evolution 58 , 250-275 (2001)
  13. ^ Zupanc, GKH: Neurogenesis and neuronal regeneration in the adult fish brain. Journal of Comparative Physiology A 192 , 649-670 (2006)
  14. ^ Zupanc, GKH: Adult neurogenesis and neuronal regeneration in the brain of teleost fish. Journal of Physiology (Paris) 102 , 357-373 (2008)
  15. ↑ Sîrbulescu, RF, Zupanc, GKH: Spinal cord repair in regeneration-competent vertebrates: adult teleost fish as a model system. Brain Research Reviews 67 , 73-93 (2011)
  16. Jump up ↑ Zupanc, GKH, Sîrbulescu, RF: Adult neurogenesis and neuronal regeneration in the central nervous system of teleost fish. European Journal of Neuroscience 34 , 917-929 (2011)
  17. ↑ Archive link ( Memento of the original from April 8, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.northeastern.edu
  18. ↑ Zupanc, MM, Wellbrock, UM, Zupanc, GKH: Proteome analysis identifies novel protein candidates involved in regeneration of the cerebellum of teleost fish. Proteomics 6 , 677-696 (2006)
  19. ↑ Ilieş, I., Zupanc, MM, Zupanc, GKH: Proteome analysis reveals protein candidates involved in early stages of brain regeneration in teleost fish. Neuroscience 219 , 302-313 (2012)
  20. ↑ Zupanc, GKH: Fish and their behavior. Exploring the mysterious underwater world. Tetra Verlag, 1982, ISBN 3-923880-11-1 , 182 pp.
  21. ^ Zupanc, GKH: Fish and Their Behavior. How Fishes Live. 2nd edition, ISBN 3-923880-19-7 . Tetra-Press, 1988, 187 pp.
  22. ↑ Zupanc, GKH (Ed.): Practical Behavioral Biology. Series: Pareys Studientexte 61, Verlag Paul Parey, 1988, ISBN 3-489-62936-1 , 274 pp.
  23. ^ Zupanc, GKH: Behavioral Neurobiology: An Integrative Approach. 2nd edition, Oxford University Press, 2010, ISBN 978-0-19-920830-2
  24. ↑ Book Review: Behavioral Neurobiology: An Integrative Approach, Second Edition. Günther KH Zupanc.  ( Page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. In: Integrative and Comparative Biology p. 1 doi : 10.1093 / icb / icq133@1@ 2Template: Dead Link / www.oup.com  
  25. ↑ jacobs-university.de: CHE Ranking 2009: Jacobs University Achieves top results in Germany's most prestigious university ranking. ( Memento of the original from July 30, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 6 May 2009 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.jacobs-university.de
  26. ↑ [1]
  27. ^ Zupanc, GKH, Bullock, TH: Walter Heiligenberg: the jamming avoidance response and beyond. Journal of Comparative Physiology A 192 , 561-572 (2006)
  28. ^ Zupanc, GKH: Theodore H. Bullock (1915-2005): Trailblazer in neurobiology. Nature 439 , 2006, p. 280
  29. ^ Zupanc, GKH, Zupanc, MM: Global revolutions in higher education: the international schools' perspective. The International Schools Journal 29 (1), 50-59 (2009)
  30. ↑ Good grades alone are not enough for a scholarship. (PDF; 2.5 MB) Interview in: Beate Bartoldus, Marei John-Ohnesorg (Ed.): Educational equity in the promotion of talented people - a contradiction in terms? Pp. 174-177
  31. ^ Zupanc, GKH: Undergraduate research and inquiry-based learning: the revitalization of the Humboldtian ideals. Bioscience Education 19-10 (2012)
  32. ↑ Zupanc, GKH: America studies itself in ruin: In the USA the fees at many universities are rising exorbitantly ˗ the whole country suffers. Süddeutsche Zeitung No. 23, p. 13, January 28, 2013 (2013)
  33. ^ Zupanc, GKH: Education over the Internet: Cheap mediocrity for many, expensive excellence for a few? Neue Gesellschaft / Frankfurter Hefte No. 6 , 50-53 (2013)

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Zupanc, Günther KH
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Zupanc, Günther Karl Heinz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German neurobiologist
DATE OF BIRTH October 20, 1958
PLACE OF BIRTH augsburg