Michael Famulok studied Chemistry at the University of Marburg where he graduated in 1986 and obtained his Doctoral degree in 1989. From 1989-1990 he was postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Chemistry at MIT. From 1990-1992 he was postdoctoral fellow at the Department of Molecular Biology at Massachusetts General Hospital (Harvard Department of Genetics). He began his independent career at the Institute of Biochemistry, LMU Munich, Germany in 1992. Since 1999 he is Professor for Biochemistry and Chemical Biology at the LIMES Institute at the University of Bonn. He is one of four Scientific Editors of the journal Chemistry & Biology and serves at the Faculty-of-1000 as head of the section Chemical Biology – Directed Molecular Evolution. Michael Famulok is member of the German National Academy of Sciences ‘Leopoldina’. In 2002 he received the Gottfried-Wilhelm Leibniz Award of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and in 2008 the GlaxoSmithKline award for outstanding achievements in Chemical Biology. Professor Famulok‘s research interests include aptamer and intramer technology, the Chemical Biology of guaninenucleotide exchange factors (GEFs), and DNA nanoarchitectures.

Scientific career

since 2012 Max Planck Fellow, caesar
since 1999 Professur (C4) for Bioorganic Chemistry, Life & Medical Sciences (LIMES), University of Bonn
1996-1999 Substitute for Full Professor of Biochemistry and Head of the Department, Institute for Biochemistry, LMU Munich
1992-1996 Habilitation in Biochemistry and Bioorganic Chemistry, Institute for Biochemistry, LMU Munich
1990-1992 Postdoctoral fellow, Massachussetts General Hospital/Harvard Department of Genetics, Boston, USA
1989-1990 Postdoctoral fellow, Massachussetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, USA
1987-1989 PhD, University of Marburg (Organic Chemistry)

Awards and Honors

2013 Elected Vice President of the German Research Council (DFG)
2012 Appointment as Max Planck Fellow for research center caesar
2010 ERC Advanced Grant DNA-Machines
2009 Member of the nomination boad of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Award of the DFG
2008 GlaxoSmithKline Award for Outstanding Achievement in Chemical Biology
2007 Member of the German Academy of SciencesLeopoldina
2006 Research Advisory Council, Association of the Chemical Industry, Germany
2002 Member of the Academy of Sciences and Arts of North Rhine-Westphalia
2002 Gottfried-Wilhelm-Leibniz-Preis of the DFG
2001 Offer of a chair for Biochemistry, University of Würzburg
1998 Klung-Wilhelmy-Weberbank-Award for Chemistry
1998 Karl-Ziegler Sponsorship Award of the German Chemical Society
1996 Lecturer Award of the Association of the Chemical Industry, Germany
Prof. Dr. Michael Famulok
Max Planck Fellow