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Year of election: | 2004 |
Section: | Biochemistry and Biophysics |
City: | Göttingen |
Country: | Germany |
Main research interests: Membrane fusion, fusion proteins, exocytosis of synaptic vesicles
Reinhard Jahn is known for his research on the molecular mechanisms of membrane fusion, with special emphasis on exocytosis of synaptic vesicles in neurons.
In his work he dealt with both the calcium receptor for exocytosis and the fusion proteins. Important contributions include the identification and initial characterization of the calcium receptor synaptotagmin, the identification of SNARE proteins as targets for botulinum neurotoxins, and the structural characterization of SNARE complexes, which led to the development of a mechanistic model for membrane fusion that is presently largely accepted.
Furthermore, Reinhard Jahn has contributed to the structural characterization of synaptic vesicles including the first description of several components of this organelle.