Herwig Baier
Herwig Baier (born May 21, 1965 in Münster ) is a German biologist and since 2011 Director of the Genes – Circuits – Behavior Department at the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology .
Career
Baier studied biology at the University of Konstanz . He completed his diploma (1990) and doctoral theses (1995) in Friedrich Bonhoeffer's department at the Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology in Tübingen . As a postdoctoral fellow, he worked in William (Bill) Harris's laboratory at the University of California, San Diego . In 1997, Baier was appointed to the University of California, San Francisco , where he taught and researched as a professor between 1998 and 2012. In 2011, Herwig Baier was appointed director of the Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology in Martinsried by the Max Planck Society .
Scientific focus
Herwig Baier researches how the brains of animals generate appropriate behavioral responses from sensory information. His work contributes to the understanding of the molecular , cellular , synaptic and circuit mechanisms of nervous system functions and animal behavior. The following questions are of particular interest:
- Which functions do neuronal cell types fulfill for perception and behavior?
- How are neural circuits organized and put together?
- How are neural circuits modulated and integrated into larger networks in order to generate complex and flexible behavior?
- How do nerve cells differentiate during development, how are their axons directed to their destination and how do they form specific synaptic connections?
Herwig Baier's work led to a number of scientific advances and discoveries:
- Establishing the zebrafish as a model organism : Herwig Baier has been pioneering the introduction of the zebrafish (Danio rerio) as a model for neurobiological and behavioral research since the early 1990s . He made use of the optical transparency of the fish during their larval stage and their genetic modifiability. His work led to the first large- scale screens for genes that control the development and function of the visual system. (Baier et al., Development 1996; Neuhauss et al., Journal of Neuroscience 1999; Muto et al., PloS Genetics 2005)
- Elucidation of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the interconnection of the visual system: Herwig Baier helped to identify gradient-based axonal guiding mechanisms during the development of the retinotopic maps. His group also discovered the role of the Slit-Robo signal cascade in targeting individual layers of the roof of the midbrain (optic tectum) through axons of the retina. (Baier and Bonhoeffer, Science 1992; Gosse et al., Nature 2008; Xiao et al., Cell 2011)
- Discoveries relevant to cell fate in the developing visual system: Baier described the role of interkinetic nuclear migration in decisions about cell fate in the retina. (Del Bene et al., Cell 2008)
- Optical remote control of behavior: Herwig Baier's group was the first to use optogenetic methods for circuit analysis in zebrafish. With the targeted expression of fluorescent indicators and optogenetic effectors such as channelrhodopsin (ChR2), halorhodopsin (NpHR) or the light-activated glutamate receptor (LiGluR) in specific brain regions, Baier and his colleagues were able to show that the behavior of animals by activating individual nerve cells with light can be changed specifically and reversibly in a period of milliseconds. (Szobota et al., Neuron 2007; Arrenberg et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 2009; Wyart et al., Nature 2009)
- Development of 2-photon optogenetics with three-dimensional target accuracy: Baier's team developed the two-photon computer-generated holography - a microscopy process that enables precise optical remote control of neural activity in a living, behaving animal. By inserting a spatial light regulator into the beam path of a two-photon microscope , the method enables the targeted photo-stimulation of several individual nerve cells in the intact brain of a zebrafish. (Dal Maschio et al., Neuron 2017)
Honors and memberships
Herwig Baier received the Otto Hahn Medal from the Max Planck Society for his doctoral thesis (1995) and a Feodor Lynen grant from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (1995). As a faculty member at the University of California, San Francisco, he received the David and Lucile Packard Fellowship in Science and Engineering (1999), a Sloan Fellowship in Neuroscience (2000), the Klingenstein Award (2001) and the Byers Award for Basic Science Research ( 2006). He is Honorary Professor at the Ludwig Maximilians University in Munich and a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) .
Connections to industry
In 2001, together with Bill Harris and Paul Goldsmith, Herwig Baier founded Daniolabs Ltd (Cambridge, UK), a biotechnology company focused on the screening of zebrafish for drugs and treatment of ophthalmic, neurological and gastrointestinal diseases.
Baier works as a scientific consultant for various biotechnology companies.
Web links
Individual evidence
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Baier, Herwig |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German neurobiologist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | May 21, 1965 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Muenster |