Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Robert Huber FMRS

Center for Medical Biotechnology

Professor Robert Huber is a guest professor and member of the Center for Medical Biotechnology at the University of Duisburg-Essen. His research focuses on exploring and interpreting the three-dimensional structure of biological molecules. This work is of central importance for both basic research as well as the development of new medications.

Professor Huber was born on February 20th, 1937, in Munich and studied chemistry at the Technical University of Munich. In 1963, he received his doctorate degree from TU Munich with a dissertation on the crystal structure of a diazo bond and the insect pupation hormone ecdyson. Until 1971, he worked as a postdoc at TU Munich and at the Max Planck Institute for Eiweiß- und Lederforschung, where he developed the first protein-crystallographic lab in Germany through his research on insect enerythrocruorin and basic pancreatic trypsin inhibitors. From 1972 to 2005, he served as Director of the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Martinsried near Munich.

In 1988, Professor Huber was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry for determining the three-dimensional structure of a photosynthetic reaction center. His work brought deeper insight into the process of photosynthesis, which produces the oxygen that all humans and animals need in order to breathe. The photosynthesis taking place in plants and some bacteria uses light as an energy source to form the 100 billion tons of oxygen per year required to sustain animal and human life on this planet.

Professor Huber is a member of the scientific council at a number of companies and co-founder of two biotech companies, Proteros and Supprevnol. The research group surrounding Professor Huber has published more than 1100 scientific articles about the structure and function of a wide spectrum of biological macromolecules and the methodology behind protein crystallography.