Jan-Michael Peters (born 16 August 1962) is a German

cell Cell most often refers to: * Cell (biology), the functional basic unit of life * Cellphone, a phone connected to a cellular network * Clandestine cell, a penetration-resistant form of a secret or outlawed organization * Electrochemical cell, a de ...

and

molecular biologist Molecular biology is a branch of biology that seeks to understand the molecule, molecular basis of biological activity in and between Cell (biology), cells, including biomolecule, biomolecular synthesis, modification, mechanisms, and interactio ...

. Since 2013, he is Scientific Director of the

Research Institute of Molecular Pathology The Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) is a biomedical research center, which conducts curiosity-driven basic research in the molecular life sciences. The IMP is located at the Vienna Biocenter in Vienna, Austria. The institute empl ...

(IMP) in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

Early life and education

Jan-Michael Peters was born and grew up in

Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...

and referred to an interest in biology that goes back to his childhood. Peters started studying at the

University of Kiel Kiel University, officially the Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, (, abbreviated CAU, known informally as Christiana Albertina) is a public research university in the city of Kiel, Germany. It was founded in 1665 as the ''Academia Holsator ...

in 1982, where he received his pre-diploma in Biology. In 1988, he completed his diploma studies at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

, where he also obtained his PhD in cell biology in 1991. Working with

Werner Franke Werner Wilhelm Franke (31 January 1940 – 14 November 2022) was a German biologist and a professor of cell and molecular biology at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg. He was an anti-doping pioneer in Germany. Life Franke was bor ...

during his PhD studies, Peters discovered p97-ATPase and first characterized the 26S proteasome.

Career and research

Between 1992 and 1993, Peters continued working with Werner W. Franke as a postdoctoral fellow at the German Cancer Research Center DKFZ in

Heidelberg Heidelberg (; ; ) is the List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, fifth-largest city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, and with a population of about 163,000, of which roughly a quarter consists of studen ...

, where he worked on the first purification and electron microscopy of 26S proteasome. In 1994, Peters joined the lab of

Marc W. Kirschner Marc Wallace Kirschner (born February 28, 1945) is an American cell biologist and biochemist and the founding chair of the Department of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School. He is known for major discoveries in cell and developmental biolog ...

Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

as a postdoctoral fellow. There, he discovered the anaphase promoting complex/cyclosome (APC/C) and other enzymes required for chromosome segregation. In 1996, Peters moved to Vienna to become Junior Group Leader at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), and was promoted to Senior Scientist in 2002. In 2011, he became the institute's Scientific Deputy Director and in 2013 Scientific Director, succeeding

Barry Dickson Barry J. Dickson (born 14 August 1962) is an Australian neurobiologist who studies the development of neuronal networks in the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Dickson is a group leader at the Janelia Research Campus of the Howard Hughes Medi ...

. Peters’ research group studies the molecular mechanisms of chromosome organization,

chromosome segregation Chromosome segregation is the process in eukaryotes by which two sister chromatids formed as a consequence of DNA replication, or paired homologous chromosomes, separate from each other and migrate to opposite poles of the nucleus. This segreg ...

and

cell division Cell division is the process by which a parent cell (biology), cell divides into two daughter cells. Cell division usually occurs as part of a larger cell cycle in which the cell grows and replicates its chromosome(s) before dividing. In eukar ...

in a variety of model organisms. Peters characterized the regulation and operating principle of a number of proteins that are responsible for the correct chromosome segregation during mitosis. Using the enzyme Polo-like Kinase 1 (Pik1), Peters characterized a cell division enzyme that has shown to be a promising target for chemotherapy against certain cancers. Peters was the coordinator of the

European Science Foundation The European Science Foundation (ESF) is an association of 11 member organizations devoted to scientific research in 8 European countries. ESF is an independent, non-governmental, non-profit organization that promotes science in Europe. It was e ...

network grant EuroDYNA (2005-2008) that is fostering interaction among various collaborative research projects. He contributed to this program when he discovered the relationship between two proteins,

cohesin Cohesin is a protein complex that mediates Establishment of sister chromatid cohesion, sister chromatid cohesion, homologous recombination, and Topologically associating domain, DNA looping. Cohesin is formed of SMC3, SMC1A, SMC1, RAD21, SCC1 an ...

and CTCF, in regulating the expression and transcription of genes. Between 2004 and 2009, Peters also coordinated the EU funded research project MitoCheck, aimed at the identification of genes that play a key role in the process of mitosis. Between 2010 and 2015, he headed the follow-up project MitoSys, through which biologists, mathematicians, biochemists and biophysicists collaborated to reveal how genes and proteins orchestrate mitosis in human cells. This project was accompanied by an art project seeking to link science and society.

Awards and honours

* 2016

European Research Council The European Research Council (ERC) is a public body for funding of scientific and technological research conducted within the European Union (EU). Established by the European Commission in 2007, the ERC is composed of an independent Scientific ...

(ERC) Advanced Grant * 2014 Full Member of the

Austrian Academy of Sciences The Austrian Academy of Sciences (; ÖAW) is a legal entity under the special protection of the Republic of Austria. According to the statutes of the Academy its mission is to promote the sciences and humanities in every respect and in every fi ...

(ÖAW) * 2012 Correspondent Member of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) * 2011

Wittgenstein Award The Wittgenstein Award () is an Austrian science award supporting the notion that "scientists should be guaranteed the greatest possible freedom and flexibility in the performance of their research." The prize money of up to 1.5 million euro make i ...

* 2007 Binder Innovation Prize of the German Society for Cell Biology * 2005 Boehringer Ingelheim R&D Award * 2002 Novartis Research Prize * 2002 Elected

European Molecular Biology Organisation The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is a professional, non-profit organization of more than 2,100 life scientists. Its goal is to promote research in life science and enable international exchange between scientists. It co-funds cour ...

(EMBO) member * 2001 Roche Research Prize for Cell Biology * 2001 EMBO Young Investigator Programme * 1994 Falcon Prize German Society for Cell Biology * 1992 Scientific awards Junior Scientist Award, Society for Promotion of Molecular Biology * 1994–1996 EMBO long term postdoctoral fellowship * 1992–1993 Postdoctoral fellowship DKFZ * 1983–1988 Fellowships Student fellowship German National Scholarship Foundation

References

External links

Lab Website of Jan-Michael Peters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peters, Jan-Michael 1962 births Living people Scientists from Schleswig-Holstein University of Kiel alumni Heidelberg University alumni German molecular biologists European Research Council grantees Members of the Austrian Academy of Sciences Members of the European Molecular Biology Organization