Franz-Ulrich Hartl
Franz -Ulrich Hartl ( born March 10, 1957 in Essen) is a German cell biologist.
Life and work
Hartl studied medicine at the University of Heidelberg, where in 1982 his medical state examination. In 1985 he earned his doctorate under Hans Schimassek the Institute of Biochemistry, summa cum laude for Dr. med. As a post - graduate student, he worked in 1985 and 1986 with Walter Neupert at the Institute of Physiological Chemistry, University of Munich. He was also from 1987 to 1989 working group leader. Another postdoctoral research led him to William Wickner to the University of California, Los Angeles. In 1990 he habilitated - again in Munich - for Dr. hab. and was Assistant Professor there. The following year, he accepted an appointment as associate professor of cell biology and genetics at Cornell University. At the same time he worked at the Sloan Kettering Institute. He became a full professor and in 1995 William E. Snee professor in 1993. He was also from 1994, Associate Investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. As Director of the cellular biochemistry at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Martinsried, he returned in 1997 to Germany. In the same year he was awarded an honorary professorship at the University of Munich. From 2001 to 2003 he was Vice President from 2003 to 2005, President of the Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Hartl works in the fields of physiological chemistry, cell biology and biochemistry. He particularly focuses on protein folding. He studied the process of folding in the cytosol in bacteria, archaea and eukaryotes and could 1989 prove that chaperone proteins fold. He explores why the activity of the chaperones with the younger age, as they can be activated again. He is also studying new therapeutic approaches for neurodegenerative diseases caused by misfolding or aggregation of proteins, such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Huntington's disease or prion diseases. He was able to show that certain chaperones can suppress the formation of misfolded proteins in Huntington's disease. Also for the biotechnological production of proteins its chaperone is important because the yield of functional protein to be increased.
Hartl lives with his wife Manajit Hayer -Hartl, who also works as a biochemist in Kottgeisering. Her hobby is their wine collection. Hartl also plays flute and piano.
Publications (selection)
- The control of peroxisomal enzyme activities by thyroid hormone in rat liver. PhD thesis, Heidelberg, 1985
- Topogenesis of mitochondrial protein. Mechanisms of Sorting and Assembly of Proteins into the Mitochondrial Subcompartments. Habilitation thesis, Munich 1990
- As editor: protein targeting to mitochondria. JAI Press, Greenwich, Conn. [ua ] 1996 ( = Advances in molecular and cell biology, Volume 17 ), ISBN 0-7623-0144-9
- Hartl FU: Molecular chaperones in cellular protein folding. In: Nature. Volume 381, 1996, pp. 571-580.
- FU Hartl and M. Hayer -Hartl: Molecular chaperones in the cytosol. From nascent chain to folded protein. In: Science. Volume 295, 2002, pp. 1852-1858.