Rolf Hilgenfeld

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Rolf Hilgenfeld (born April 3, 1954 in Göttingen ) is a German biochemist . He is director of the Institute for Biochemistry at the University of Lübeck .

Life

Rolf Hilgenfeld studied chemistry at the University of Göttingen (Diploma 1981), where he conducted research at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (1979–1981). In 1981 he went to the Free University of Berlin . Here he was promoted to Dr. rer. nat. PhD. In his dissertation he determined the structure of a plant protease. From 1986 to 1995 he researched protein biosynthesis in the Hoechst laboratory , interrupted by two years at the Biocenter of the University of Basel in 1986/88. At Hoechst he was involved in the development of an insulin preparation (Lantus).

In 1995 he was appointed professor for biochemical structural research at the University of Jena . In 2003 he switched to the chair for biochemistry at the University of Lübeck. In 2020 he retired, but continues to research as a senior professor.

research

SARS sculpture in Singapore

Hilgenfeld is particularly known for his research results in virology . In the 1990s he worked on proteases in HIV and from 1998 on coronaviruses . During the SARS pandemic 2002/2003 2003, he was able to publish the three-dimensional structure of the SARS virus protease and a first inhibitor . Since 2006 a sculpture by the American artist Mara G. Haseltine has been a reminder of this in the Biopolis in Singapore . Hilgenfeld built a close partnership with Chinese research institutions. Since interest in coronaviruses decreased again after the SARS epidemic of 2003 subsided, he investigated the partly similar main protease of enteroviruses , which were of greater importance for the pharmaceutical industry.

In 2016, a team he led succeeded in elucidating the three-dimensional structure of the Zika virus cleavage enzyme . This created the basis for the development of an antiviral agent.

At the beginning of 2020, he and his colleagues succeeded in elucidating the three-dimensional structure of the main protease M pro of SARS-CoV-2 . An alpha-ketoamide inhibitor developed by Hilgenfeld's team years ago against the MERS-CoV has now been shown to be effective, at least in vitro , on infected human lung cells, also against the SARS-CoV-2. The German Center for Infection Research asked Hilgenfeld to continue working for two years. The University of Lübeck offered him an unpaid senior professorship.

Awards

Web links

Commons : Rolf Hilgenfeld  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Thiemo Heeg, On the Way to Drugs , FAZ, May 4, 2020
  2. ↑ In: Science 300 (2003), pp. 1763-1767
  3. ↑ Memorial for SARS Research in Singapore , press release of the University of Lübeck of September 25, 2006, accessed on January 22, 2020
  4. ^ Sino-European Project on SARS Diagnostics and Antivirals , accessed on January 22, 2020
  5. ↑ Jian Lei, Guido Hansen, Christoph Nitsche, Christian D. Klein, Linlin Zhang, Rolf Hilgenfeld: Crystal Structure of Zika virus NS2B-NS3 Protease in Complex with a Boronate Inhibitor , in: Science 353 (2016), pp. 503-505 , see. Three-dimensional structure of the Zika virus protease clarified , press release of the University of Lübeck from July 7, 2016, accessed on January 20, 2020
  6. ↑ Linlin Zhang et al .: Crystal structure of SARS-CoV-2 main protease provides a basis for design of improved α-ketoamide inhibitors , Science , March 20, 2020; accessed March 30, 2020
  7. ↑ Nadja Podbregar: Coronavirus: Decisive enzyme structure cleared up , scinexx , March 23, 2020; accessed March 30, 2020
  8. ↑ Jörg Blech: Anatomy of a killer . In: Der Spiegel . No. 14 , 2020, p. 100-102 ( Online - Mar. 28, 2020 ).
  9. ↑ Press release , accessed on January 22, 2020
personal data
SURNAME Hilgenfeld, Rolf
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German biochemist
DATE OF BIRTH April 3, 1954
PLACE OF BIRTH Goettingen