Professor Dr Hermann Koepsell

Hermann Koepsell is distinguished for important contributions concerning the elucidation of structure and function of drug transporters and concerning the regulation of glucose transporters. He detected a family of transporters that mediate uptake, excretion and tissue distribution of drugs. The detailed functional characterization of organic cation transporters and of polymorphisms of these transporters represents an important step forward for the development of new drugs and for the establishment of individual drug therapy. Concerning regulation of glucose transport H. Koepsell detected and characterized an intracellular protein that regulates small intestinal glucose absorption according to ingested glucose. In addition H. Koepsell detected a novel type of glucose sensor. H. Koepsell started his scientific work 1974 at the Max-Planck-Institute of Biophysics in Frankfurt (Main). In 1993 he became chairman of the Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of Würzburg where he continued his investigations.