Research Groups

One MMPU hallmark is that it is staffed by both institutions, EMBL and the University Hospital Heidelberg, and each research group is headed by two cooperating principal investigators. Currently, the MMPU consists of eight international teams of molecular research-oriented MDs, PhDs, PhD students and technicians.

The research philosophy aims at the molecular understanding of the basis of common human diseases, its applications in diagnosis and therapy, and feedback from 'bedside medicine' into the research laboratory.

Diseases of mRNA metabolism 
Prof. Dr. Andreas Kulozik and Prof. Dr. Matthias Hentze

Cystic fibrosis / Chronic Airway Disease 
Prof. Dr. Marcus Mall and Dr. Carsten Schultz

Pathogenesis of colorectal cancer and development of novel approaches for early detection, diagnosis and prevention 
(Cancer Early Detection, Diagnosis and Prevention CED-DAP) 
Prof. Dr. Magnus von Knebel Doeberitz and Dr. Peer Bork 

Iron homeostasis in health and disease 
Prof. Dr. Martina Muckenthaler and Prof. Dr. Matthias Hentze

Cell biology and disorders of cholesterol homeostasis 
Dr. Heiko Runz and Dr. Rainer Pepperkok

Early warning signals of aging in human stem cells
Prof. Dr. Anthony D. Ho and Dr. Anne-Claude Gavin

Interfering with assembly and maturation of infectious HIV-1
Prof. Dr. Hans-Georg Kräusslich and Dr. John A.G. Briggs

Molecular mediators of chronic pain
Prof. Dr. Rohini Kuner Dr. Paul Heppenstall