Professor Dr Jens Rettig
- Section Physiology and Pharmacology/Toxicology
- Location Homburg (Saar), Germany
- Election year 2008
Research
In Rettigs wissenschaftlichen Fokus stehen die molekularen Mechanismen, die zwei elementare Signalwege im menschlichen Körper ermöglichen. Im ersten Schwerpunkt wird untersucht, auf welche Art und Weise die Freisetzung von Neurotransmittern und Hormonen vermittelt wird. Dieser Prozess spielt im zentralen Nervensystem eine überragende Rolle, und seine Modulation trägt wesentlich zur Plastizität unseres Gehirns, die sich in Begriffen wie Lernen und Gedächtnis widerspiegelt, bei. Der zweite Schwerpunkt beschäftigt sich mit dem Prozess, mit dem zytotoxische T-Zellen unseres Immunsystems Fremdstoffe erkennen und abtöten. Dabei steht die Formation und Funktion der immunologischen Synapse, der Kontaktstelle zwischen T-Zelle und Antigen-präsentierender Zelle, im Mittelpunkt der Untersuchungen.
Career
- since 2007 Full Professorship for Physiology (W3) at the Saarland University, Germany
- 2000-2007 Full Professorship for Physiology (C4) at the Saarland University, Germany
- 1995-2000 Group leader at the Max-Planck-Institute for biophysical chemistry, Göttingen, Germany
- 1994-1995 Postdoc an der University of Washington, Seattle / Postdoc at the University of Washington, Seattle (WA)
- 1990-1993 Ph.D student at the Center for Molecular Neurobiology, Hamburg, Germany
- 1999 Habilitation at the Georg-August University, Göttingen, Germany
- 1993 Ph.D degree at the Free University, Berlin, Germany
- 1984-1990 Study of Chemistry at the Ruhr-University, Bochum, Germany
Functions
- since 2003 Elected member of research committee, Medical Faculty, Saarland University, Germany
- 2006-2008 Vice Dean of Medical Faculty, Saarland University, Germany
- 2002-2003 Dean of Research, Medical Faculty, Saarland University, Germany
Projects
- since 2011 Speaker of Collaborative Research Center SFB 894 "Ca2+ signals: Molecular mechanisms and integrative functions"
- 2006-2015 Project leader Graduate Research School " Ca2+ Signaling and cellular nanodomains"
- 2003-2012 Project leader Graduate Research School "Molecular, physiological and pharmacological analysis of cellular membrane transport"
- 2000-2011 Project leader Collaborative Research Center SFB 530 "Spatial and temporal interactions of cellular signal molecules"
- 2002-2005 Project leader Graduate Research School "Cellular regulation and growth"
- 1997-2003 Project leader Priority Program "Molecular physiology of synaptic interaction: Analysis of defined mammalian mutants"
Honours and Memberships
- 2009 Elected Council member of the International Union of Physiological Sciences (IUPS)
- 2009 Visiting professorship at the Jiao Tong University, China
- 2007 Offer for Full Professorship for Neurophysiology, Charité, Berlin – declined, Germany
- 2002 Elected member of Faculty of 1000 Biology, Section Neuroscience
- 1999 Heisenberg fellow Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
- 1994 EMBO and DFG postdoctoral fellowships