Lutz Schmitt

Lutz Schmitt (* 1967 in Rheinfelden ) is a German biochemist and university professor .

Life

Lutz Schmitt studied chemistry at the Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg . He wrote his diploma thesis at the Institute for Biochemistry and Organic Chemistry with Georg E. Schulz . Then moved to the Department of Biophysics of the Technical University of Munich , where he in 1996 Erich Sackmann and Robert Tampé with summa cum laude on the novel lipid production systems for specific Biofunctionalization self-organizing boundary layers doctorate . Until 1999 he completed a postdoc course at Stanford University in the USA , funded by the German Research Foundation . Together with Harden M. McConnell , he investigated the main histocompatibility complexes of class II using 19F nuclear magnetic resonance and fluorescence spectroscopy .

He then returned to Germany and from 1999 worked as a freelance junior research group leader as part of the DFG-funded Emmy Noether program, initially at the University of Marburg and from 2001 at the Institute for Biochemistry at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt am Main . In 2004 he received a Heisenberg grant from the DFG . At the end of 2004 he was appointed to a C3 professorship at the Institute for Biochemistry at Heinrich Heine University in Düsseldorf . Since 2008, he has been the owner of the Department of Biochemistry I. He is head of the group membrane transport (Membrane Transport Group). From 2009 to 2014 Schmitt was Vice Rector for Research and Innovation at the university.

In the 2008/2009 winter semester, he received the prize, which was awarded for the first time and was endowed with 15,000 euros in tuition fees, as the “most popular professor” at Heinrich Heine University; However, the prize money was earmarked for improving the equipment at the university.

Schmitt is married and has two children.

research

Among other things, Schmitt's research is into recognition processes on biomembranes . He is also interested in the structure and functionality of ABC transporters . Their molecular structure is elucidated by means of X-ray crystallography , their signals and the communication channels to catalyze the transport of substances through biomembranes are examined in vitro . The aim is to find new ways of drug therapy for HIV infections and Alzheimer's disease, for example . His research also focuses on structural biology and protein- protein interactions. His work is supported by funds from the DFG, the Volkswagen Foundation and the EU .

Memberships and functions

Among other things, Schmitt is a member of the board of trustees of the founding foundation for the promotion of research and young scientists at Heinrich Heine University and was temporarily a delegate of the Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM) in the Biochemistry section of the Society of German Chemists . Together with Dieter Willbold from the Institute for Physical Biology, Schmitt is the spokesman for the North Rhine-Westphalian research school BioStruct .

Web links

• Website at Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Chair of Biochemistry I

Individual evidence

1. ↑ New prorectors appointed  ( 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. , Press release of the University of Düsseldorf, January 29, 2009  
2. ↑ "Nothing works without incentives" , Der Westen.de, October 13, 2008
3. ↑ Founding Foundation for the Promotion of Research and Young Scientists at the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf ( Memento of the original from September 4, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
4. ^ Section Biochemistry ( Memento from December 9, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
5. ^ New Research School Biostruct: Chairmen