Research

Hauptarbeitsgebiete: Komplexe Glykoshingolipide zellulärer Membranen: Stoffwechsel, Zellbiologie, Enzymologie an Phasengrenzflächen, Shingolipidaktivatorproteine (Isolation und Charakterisierung); molekulare Analyse von Erbkrankheiten (Tay-Sachs-Syndrom, Niemann-Pick-Syndrom, Farber-Syndrom, Sandhoff-Syndrom)

Career

• since 2007 Senior Professor, LIMES Institute, University of Bonn, Germany
• 1979-2007 Full Professor Kekulé-Institute for Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Bonn, Germany
• 1976 Department of Chemical Immunology, Weizmann Institute, Rehovot, Israel
• 1974-1979 Neurochem. Dept. Max-Planck-Institute for Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
• 1972-1979 Teaching Faculty for Chemistry, University of Munich, Germany
• 1965-1972 Research assistant, Max-Planck-Institute for Psychiatry, Munich, Germany
• 1965 University of Munich, Ph.D. in Biochemistry, Germany
• 1964 University of Munich, Graduation in Chemistry (Dipl. Chemiker), Germany

Projects

• 1991-2002 Chairman of the Advanced Research Group (SFB) on Glycoconjugates and Structures of Cell Surfaces

Functions

• 2006 President of the Assembly of the GDNÄ “From the big bang to the development of consciousness, selforganization of matter” in Bremen
• 2003-2008 President/Vice-president of the GDNÄ
• 1997-2001 President and Vice-President of the Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM)
• 1992-2000 Elected referee for biochemistry of the national science foundation (DFG
• 1985-1990 Chairman of the European Study Group on Lysosomal Diseases

Honours and Memberships

• 2008 Honorary Member of the Banglad. Soc. for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• 2008 European Lipid Science Award
• 2006 Otto Warburg Medal of the Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM)
• 2005 Burckhard Helferich Award for Bioorganic Chemistry
• 2005 International Glycoconjugate Organization Award     
• 2004 Robert Pfleger Research Prize
• since 2001 Member of the Johns Hopkins Society of Scholars    
• 2001 Mendel Medal of German National Academy of Science Leopoldina    
• since 2000 Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
• since 1999 Member of the German National Academy of Science Leopoldina
• 1999 Research Award of the Max Planck Society
• 1998 K.J. Zülch Prize and Medal of the Max Planck Society        
• 1992 Richard Kuhn Prize and Medal of the German Society for Chemistry (GDCh)
• since 1992 Honorary Member of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
• 1988 Mizuho Nakata Medal of the Brain Research Institute, Niigata University, Japan
• 1979 Heinrich Wieland Prize and Medal    
• 1976 Carl Duisberg Prize and Medal of the German Society for Chemistry (GDCh)
• 1973 Shield of the Medical Faculty, University of Tokyo
• since 1971 Use of the eponym "Sandhoff disease" for an inherited neurodegenerative ganglioside storage disorder