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Image: Christoffer P. Michel

Professor Dr

Kurt Wüthrich

Nobel Prize for Chemistry 2002

Year of election: 1987
Section: Biochemistry and Biophysics
City: La Jolla, CA
Country: USA
CV Kurt Wüthrich - German (PDF)
CV Kurt Wüthrich - English (PDF)

Research

Research Priorities: Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, molecular structural biology, structural genomics, sarcopenia and osteoporosis

Kurt Wüthrich is a Swiss biophysicist and structural biologist, who is known for his pioneering work on determining the structure of proteins in solution by means of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. In 2002 Wüthrich was awarded one half of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his development of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy for determining the three-dimensional structure of biological macromolecules in solution, the other half going to the US-American chemist John B. Fenn and the Japanese electrical engineer Kōichi Tanaka for their development of mass spectrometry (MS) of proteins. His current research at the iHuman Institute of ShanghaiTech University in China is focused on studies of GPCR dynamics and transmembrane signalling. In addition, he has a keen interest in sarcopenia and osteoporosis in the ageing human population.

NMR spectroscopy is one of the main methods of analysis in chemistry and biochemistry. It allows molecular structures to be depicted in three dimensions and to unravel the interplay between molecules in their physiological functions. The method’s advantage is that proteins can be studied in solution, i.e. in an environment similar to physiological body fluids.

Kurt Wüthrich and his working groups have investigated more than 200 protein and nucleic acid structures of relevance to medicine and biomedical research. For example, Wüthrich’s teams managed to detail the significance of the homeobox, a self-folding domain within a larger protein. Homeoboxes play a key role in the binding of DNA to regulate expression of target genes and thus govern differentiation in higher organisms. Kurt Wüthrich managed, by means of his structural analysis, to investigate immunosuppressants, which play a role in preventing the rejection of transplanted organs.

Between 1996 and 2002 the Wüthrich group identified and detailed the prion proteins of numerous organisms, including humans, cattle, and mice. Prions are proteins that are present in the so-called “cellular form” in healthy organisms, but can become misfolded. Prion proteins play an important role in the development of what is commonly known as “mad cow disease” (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, BSE) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.

For the first two decades of the 21st century, Kurt Wüthrich’s group at the Scripps Research Institute in California worked in the area of structural genomics. On the one hand, the team developed NMR methods to efficiently investigate the structures of soluble proteins. A second focus during this time period was the study of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs).

Currently, NMR investigations of GPCR dynamics and transmembrane signalling are pursued at the iHuman Institute of ShanghaiTech University in China. In his workplaces at the ETH Zürich and at Scripps Research, Kurt Wüthrich follows his interests in sarcopenia and osteoporosis in the ageing human population.

Career

  • since 2014 Adjunct Distinguished Chair Professor, Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology (DGIST), Daegu, South Korea
  • since 2013 Distinguished Senior Professor, iHuman Institute, ShanghaiTech University, Shanghai, China
  • 2012‐2016 Visiting Scholar, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
  • since 2011 Visiting Professor, University of Duisburg‐Essen, Duisburg, Germany
  • 2009‐2013 WCU Distinguished Professor, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
  • 2006‐2008 Distinguished Professor, Underwood International College, Yonsei University, Seoul, South Korea
  • since 2004 Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Professor of Structural Biology, The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI), La Jolla, USA
  • 2001‐2004 Cecil H. and Ida M. Green Visiting Professor of Structural Biology, TSRI, La Jolla, USA
  • 1997‐2000 Visiting Professor, Department of Chemistry, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
  • 1995‐2000 Chairperson, Department of Biology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule Zurich (ETH Zurich), Zurich, Switzerland
  • 1994 Visiting Scholar, TSRI, La Jolla, USA
  • 1994‐1995 Sherman Fairchild Distinguished Scholar, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), Pasadena, USA
  • 1992 Visiting Scholar, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA
  • 1988 Visiting Miller Research Professor, University of California, Berkeley, USA
  • since 1980 Professor of Biophysics, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
  • 1976‐1979 Associate Professor, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
  • 1972‐1975 Assistant Professor, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
  • 1970‐1971 Private Lecturer (Privatdozent), ETH Zurich, Switzerland
  • 1967‐1969 Member of Technical Staff, Biophysics Department, Bell Telephone Laboratories, Murray Hill, USA
  • 1965‐1967 Postdoctoral Fellow, University of California, Berkeley, USA
  • 1964‐1965 Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland and Part‐time Sports Instrcutor, Women’s High School, Basel, Switzerland
  • 1962‐1964 PhD in Chemistry, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
  • 1962‐1964 Federal Gymnastics and Sports Instructor Diploma, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
  • 1960‐1962 Part‐time Highschool Teacher Chemistry, Highschool (Gymnasium) Biel, Biel, Switzerland
  • 1959‐1960 Part‐time Highschool Teacher Physics, Cantonal School (Kantonsschule) Solothurn, Solothurn, Switzerland
  • 1957‐1962 Licentiat Degrees in Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland

Functions

  • since 2022 Member, Scientific Advisory Board, UNESCO Center “Health‐related Basic Science and Human Nutrition”, Mashhad, Iran
  • since 2020 Member, Global Advisory Board (GAB) ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
  • 2018‐2020 Member, President’s Advisory Board, Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon, Korea
  • 2017‐2019 Member, International Scientific Advisory Board, Innovation Center for Structural Biology (ICSB), Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
  • 2011-2022 President, Scientific Committee for Chemistry, International Solvay Institutes, Brussels, Belgium
  • 2008‐2010 Member, Council, Stiftung Antidoping Schweiz, Switzerland
  • since 2007 Member, Honorary Advisory Board, International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB)
  • 2005‐2010 Member, Scientific Committee for Chemistry, International Solvay Institutes, Brussels, Belgium
  • 2001‐2015 Councillor, Marcel Benoist Foundation, Bern, Switzerland
  • 2000‐2005 Member, Advisory Board, Genomics Sciences Center, RIKEN, Tokyo, Japan
  • 2000‐2001 President, Commission on Biophysical Chemistry, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)
  • 1997‐2005 Member, Advisory Board, Institute of Biotechnology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
  • 1997‐2005 Member, Advisory Board, Novartis Foundation, London, UK
  • 1996‐1999 Member, Commission on Biophysical Chemistry, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)
  • 1994‐1997 Member, Advisory Board, Ciba Foundation, London, UK
  • 1993‐1996 Member, Advisory Board, Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Jena, Germany
  • 1990‐1991 President, Zurich Chemical Society, Zurich, Switzerland
  • 1989‐1995 Member, Advisory Board, European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), Heidelberg, Germany
  • 1989‐1995 Member, Advisory Board, Priority Programme “Protein Design”, German Research Foundation (DFG), Germany
  • 1986‐1992 Member, Executive Committee, Swiss Biochemical Society, Switzerland
  • 1985‐1988 President, Biophysics Section, Swiss Biochemical Society, Switzerland
  • 1984‐1987 Vice President, International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB)
  • 1982‐1990 Member, Standing Committee on the Free Circulation of Scientists, International Council of Scientific Unions (ICSU)
  • 1980‐1986 Member, General Committee, ICSU
  • 1978‐1984 Secretary General, International Union of Pure and Applied Biophysics (IUPAB)
  • 1977‐1982 President, Swiss Commission for Molecular Biology (SKMB), Switzerland
  • 1975‐1978 Member, Council, IUPAB
  • 1973‐1976 Member, SKMB, Switzerland

Honours and Memberships

  • 2022 Foreign Member, Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, Italy
  • 2020 Magnolia Award, Shanghai Municipal Government, Shanghai, China
  • 2017 Genome Valley Excellence Award, BioAsia, Hyderabad, India
  • 2016 Social Caring Leadership Award, Hongkong, China
  • 2016 Shanghai Thousand Talents Award, Shanghai, China
  • 2016 Doctor honoris causa, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Córdoba, Argentina
  • 2015 Doctor honoris causa, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
  • 2015 Doctor honoris causa in Pharmacology, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
  • 2013 Corresponding Member, Academia Brasileira de Ciências, Brazil
  • 2013 Theodor Bücher Medal, Federation of European Biochemical Societies
  • 2012 Laurea Magistrale in Pharmacology honoris causa, Università degli Studie di Napoli, Napoli, Italy
  • 2012 President’s Gold Medal, Government of India
  • 2010 Foreign Member, Royal Society, UK
  • 2010 Ralph and Helen Oesper Award, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, USA
  • 2009 Jabir ibn Hyyan (Geber) Medal, Saudi Chemical Society, Saudi Arabia
  • 2008 Paul Walden Medal, Riga Technical University, Riga, Latvia
  • 2008 Johannes M. Bijvoet Medal, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands
  • 2007 Doctor honoris causa, Université René Descartes, Paris, France
  • 2007 Laurea Specialistica in Biotechnology honoris causa, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
  • 2007 Doctor honoris causa, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
  • 2007 Doctor of Chemistry honoris causa, Universidad del Norte, Asunción, Paraguay
  • 2007 Doctor of Medicine honoris causa, University of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary
  • 2005 Foreign Member, Korean Academy of Science and Technology, South Korea
  • 2005 Corresponding Member, North Rhine‐Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts, Germany
  • 2005 Doctor of Science honoris causa, King George’s Medical University, Lakhnau, India
  • 2004 Honorary Member, Groupement Ampère, Zurich, Switzerland
  • 2004 Foreign Member, Latvian Academy of Sciences, Latvia
  • 2004 Honorary Member, European Academy of Sciences and Arts
  • 2004 Honorary Member, Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary
  • 2004 Profesor Extraordinario con distinción de Académico Ilustre, U.N. Mar del Plata, Argentina
  • 2004 Doctor of Science honoris causa, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UK
  • 2004 Doctor honoris causa, Universitat de València, València, Spain
  • 2003 Titular Member, European Academy of Arts, Sciences and Humanities (EAASH)
  • 2003 Honorary Member, Swiss Chemical Society, Switzerland
  • 2003 Honorary Fellow, Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
  • 2003 Honorary Fellow, Royal Society of Chemistry, UK
  • 2003 Honorary Member, Wallisellen Football Club, Wallisellen, Switzerland
  • 2003 Honorary Citizen, Municipality of Lyss, Seeland/Bern, Switzerland
  • 2002 Swiss Award “Society”, The Swiss Awards, Switzerland
  • 2002 Honorary Award 2002, Municipality of Wallisellen, Wallisellen, Switzerland
  • 2002 World Future Award, World Awards Media GmbH, Vienna, Austria
  • 2002 Nobel Prize in Chemistry (one half, the other half to John B. Fenn and Kōichi Tanaka), Nobel Foundation, Stockholm, Sweden
  • 2002 Member, Swiss Academy of Medical Sciences (SAMW), Switzerland
  • 2001 Member, Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences (SATW), Switzerland
  • 2001 Médaille d‘Honneur en Argent, Société d‘Encouragement au Progrès, Paris, France
  • 2001 Docteur honoris causa, Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
  • 2000 Foreign Member, Académie des Sciences, France
  • 1999 Otto Warburg Medal, German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM), Germany
  • 1999 Günther Laukien Prize, Experimental NMR Conference (ENC), USA
  • 1998 Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), USA
  • 1998 Kyoto Prize in Advanced Technology, Inamori Foundation, Kyoto, Japan
  • 1997 Dr. phil. honoris causa, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
  • 1997 Dottore ad Honorem in Chimica, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena, Italy
  • 1996 Kaj Linderstrøm‐Lang Prize, Carlsberg Foundation, Copenhagen, Denmark
  • 1993 Distinguished Service Award, The Miami Bio/Technology Winter Symposia, USA
  • 1993 Louis‐Jeantet Prize for Medicine, Fondation Louis‐Jeantet, Geneva, Switzerland
  • 1993 International Honorary Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, USA
  • 1992 Honorary Fellow, National Academy of Sciences, India
  • 1992 International Member, National Academy of Sciences, USA
  • 1992 Swiss Science Prize Marcel Benoist, Marcel Benoist Foundation, Bern, Switzerland
  • 1991 Gilbert Newton Lewis Medal, University of California, Berkeley, USA
  • 1991 Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize, Columbia University, New York City, USA
  • 1990 Stein and Moore Award, Protein Society, USA
  • 1989 Foreign Fellow, National Academy of Sciences, India
  • 1989 Member, Academia Europaea
  • 1987 Member, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina, Germany
  • 1986 Médaille P. Bruylants, Université Catholique de Louvain, Louvain‐la‐Neuve, Belgium
  • 1984 Member, European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO)
  • 1983 Shield of the Faculty of Medicine, Tokyo University, Tokyo, Japan
  • 1974 Friedrich Miescher Award, Swiss Society for Biochemistry, Switzerland

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