Ernst Bamberg (born November 9, 1940 in

Krefeld Krefeld ( , ; ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, its c ...

) is a German

biophysicist Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that applies approaches and methods traditionally used in physics to study biological phenomena. Biophysics covers all scales of biological organization, from molecular to organismic and populations ...

and director

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

of the Department of Biophysical Chemistry at the

Max Planck Institute of Biophysics The Max Planck Institute of Biophysics () is located in Frankfurt, Germany. It was founded as the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute of Biophysics in 1937, and moved into a new building in 2003. It is an institute of the Max Planck Society. Since March ...

Career

Bamberg received his PhD in

physical chemistry Physical chemistry is the study of macroscopic and microscopic phenomena in chemical systems in terms of the principles, practices, and concepts of physics such as motion, energy, force, time, thermodynamics, quantum chemistry, statistical mech ...

from the

University of Basel The University of Basel (Latin: ''Universitas Basiliensis''; German: ''Universität Basel'') is a public research university in Basel, Switzerland. Founded on 4 April 1460, it is Switzerland's oldest university and among the world's oldest univ ...

in 1971, and a

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in Germany, France, Italy, Poland and some other European and non-English-speaking countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excelle ...

biophysical chemistry Biophysical chemistry is a physical science that uses the concepts of physics and physical chemistry for the study of biological systems. The most common feature of the research in this subject is to seek an explanation of the various phenomena ...

from the

University of Konstanz The University of Konstanz () is a university in the city of Konstanz in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Its main campus was opened on the Gießberg in 1972 after being founded in 1966. The university is Germany's southernmost university and is ...

in 1976. He was a

Heisenberg fellow Werner Karl Heisenberg (; ; 5 December 1901 – 1 February 1976) was a German theoretical physicist, one of the main pioneers of the theory of quantum mechanics and a principal scientist in the German nuclear program during World War II. He pub ...

from 1979 to 1983, when he became head of an independent working group at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics in Frankfurt/Main. In 1988, he became an

adjunct professor An adjunct professor is a type of academic appointment in higher education who does not work at the establishment full-time. The terms of this appointment and the job security of the tenure vary in different parts of the world, but the term is gen ...

Frankfurt University Goethe University Frankfurt () is a public research university located in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. It was founded in 1914 as a citizens' university, which means it was founded and funded by the wealthy and active liberal citizenry of Frankfurt ...

, which named him a full professor of biophysical chemistry in 1993, and professor emeritus in 2009. He has also been a director and Scientific Member at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics since 1993, and a senior investigator at the Cluster of Excellence Frankfurt (CEF) since 2008.

Research

Bamberg's research focuses on

channelrhodopsin Channelrhodopsins are a subfamily of retinylidene proteins (rhodopsins) that function as light-gated ion channels. They serve as sensory photoreceptors in unicellular green algae, controlling phototaxis: movement in response to light. Expressed ...

s. With

Georg Nagel Georg Nagel (born 24 August 1953 in Weingarten, Germany) is a biophysicist and professor at the Department for Neurophysiology at the University of Würzburg in Germany. His research is focused on microbial photoreceptors and the development of op ...

and

Peter Hegemann Peter Hegemann (born 11 December 1954) is a Hertie Senior Research Chair for Neurosciences and a professor of Experimental Biophysics at the Department of Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany. He is known ...

, who were attempting to identify the proteins that allow ''

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii ''Chlamydomonas reinhardtii'' is a single-cell green alga about 10 micrometres in diameter that swims with two flagella. It has a cell wall made of hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins, a large cup-shaped chloroplast, a large pyrenoid, and a ...

'', a green alga, to move toward light using

photocurrent Photocurrent is the electric current through a photosensitive device, such as a photodiode, as the result of exposure to radiant power. The photocurrent may occur as a result of the photoelectric, photoemissive, or photovoltaic effect. The phot ...

s, Bamberg was part of the first research team to isolate and characterize channelrhodopsin 2 (ChR2). "We had a hard time trying to convince people that it was true," he told ''

Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...

'' later, but "Before we published the first papers howing that algal proteins could generate currents in eukaryotic cells we applied for a patent where we gave to our fantasy a free run about the possible applications of channelrhodopsins on electrically excitable cells, including some biomedical applications." In 2005, Bamberg and Nagel worked with

Ed Boyden Edward S. Boyden (born August 18, 1979) is an American neuroscientist and entrepreneur at MIT. He is the Y. Eva Tan Professor in Neurotechnology, and a full member of the McGovern Institute for Brain Research. He is recognized for his work on opt ...

Karl Deisseroth Karl Alexander Deisseroth (born November 18, 1971) is an American scientist. He is the Chen Din Hwa, D.H. Chen Foundation Professor of Bioengineering and of psychiatry and Behavioural sciences, behavioral sciences at Stanford University. He is ...

, and

Feng Zhang Feng Zhang (; born October 22, 1981) is a Chinese-born American biochemist. Zhang currently holds the James and Patricia Poitras Professorship in Neuroscience at the McGovern Institute for Brain Research and in the Departments of Brain and Co ...

to demonstrate that this light-gated channel could be used as an actuator to control neural activity, helping to lay the foundations for the study of

optogenetics Optogenetics is a biological technique to control the activity of neurons or other cell types with light. This is achieved by Gene expression, expression of Channelrhodopsin, light-sensitive ion channels, Halorhodopsin, pumps or Photoactivated ade ...

Selected awards

* 1987

Boris Rajewsky Boris Rajewsky (; ; 17 July 1893 – 22 November 1974) was a Russian-born German biophysicist, who was one of the most influential researchers on the impact of radiation on living organisms in the 20th century. He served as Rector of the Goethe Un ...

Preis für Biophysik * 2009 Stifterverbandspreis des Stifterverbands für die Deutsche Wissenschaft * 2010

Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences The Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences is intended to recognize breakthrough research in pure or applied life science research that is distinguished by its excellence, originality and impact on our understanding of biological systems and processes. ...

, with Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel * 2010 Karl Heinz Beckurts Prize for Technological Innovation * 2011 Member of the Leopoldina National Academy of Sciences * 2012 K. J. Zülch-Preis der Gertrud Reemtsma Stiftung, für neurologische Grundlagenforschung (basic neuroscience), with Peter Hegemann, Georg Nagel, and Karl Deisseroth * 2013

The Brain Prize The Brain Prize, formerly known as The Grete Lundbeck European Brain Research Prize, is an international scientific award honouring "one or more scientists who have distinguished themselves by an outstanding contribution to neuroscience and who are ...

from the Grete Lundbeck European Brain Research Foundation, with Ed Boyden, Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann,

Gero Miesenböck Gero Andreas Miesenböck (born 15 July 1965) is an Austrian scientist. He is currently Waynflete Professor of Physiology and Director of the Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour (CNCB) at the University of Oxford and a fellow of Magdalen C ...

, and Georg Nagel * 2019 Citation Laureate from the Web of Science Group * 2019

Rumford Prize Founded in 1796, the Rumford Prize, awarded by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, is one of the oldest scientific prizes in the United States. The prize recognizes contributions by scientists to the fields of heat and light. These terms ...

from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, with Ed Boyden, Karl Deisseroth, Peter Hegemann, Gero Miesenböck, and Georg Nagel

References

External links

Ernst Bamberg Hot Topics presentation: Optogenetics and hybrid-optical control of cells
* German Wikipedia page {{DEFAULTSORT:Bamberg, Ernst Living people 1940 births German biophysicists Max Planck Institute directors