Burghardt Wittig

Burghardt Wittig (born December 3, 1947) is a German professor of molecular biology[1] and bioinformatics at Freie Universitaet Berlin in Berlin (FUB), Germany. He is known for his research in the fields of chromatin structure and gene regulation, DNA structures induced by torsional strain, and signal transduction mediated by G-proteins. In 2014, he is chairman (Vorstand) of the Foundation Institute Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics (FIMBB) at FUB, and also chairman of the Scientific and Strategic Advisory Board of Mologen.

Early life

Wittig was born in Celle, Germany.

Career

Wittig was a visiting professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1984-1986 and 1987 - 1989.[2][3]

In 1989 he became a full professor (S-C4) at Freie Universität Berlin, and was awarded the Schering Professorship. He became a founding chair, and later head of Molecular Biology and BioInformatics at the Institute for Molecular Biology and Biochemistry (Institut fuer Molekularbiologie und Biochemie) at FUB.[4] From 1987-89 he was supervisor of the PhD theses of Carsten Carlberg, who is since 2000 professor of Biochemistry at the University of Eastern Finland, and of Stefan Wölfl,[5] who became professor of pharmaceutical biology at the University of Heidelberg.

Beginning in 1994, Wittig focused his research on the design, development, and clinical proof-of-concept of covalently closed DNA constructs for the treatment of cancer and for DNA-vaccines against infectious diseases.[6] Two classes of DNA-molecules evolved through theoretical and experimental selection processes and became key technologies; MIDGE for minimalistic, immunogenically defined gene expression, and dSLIM for DNA-based immunomodulation.

To enable independent transition from basic research into DNA medicines, he founded Mologen AG in 1998. Mologen had their IPO at the German stock exchange in the same year,[7] and Wittig served as CEO (Vorstandsvorsitzender) until end of 2007,[8] while maintaining his full professorship at Freie Universitaet Berlin (FUB) in a private-public-partnership.

From 2003 - 2010 he was Director of the Institute of Molecular Biology and Bioinformatics at the Charité Berlin.

Wittig has published the results of his research in leading scientific journals, including Cell, Nature,[9] PNAS, and Science.

Publications

References

[10]

  1. ↑ Deutschland. Societäts-Verlag. 1993.
  2. ↑ http://www.fu-berlin.de/sites/fimbb/mitarbeiter/wittig.html
  3. ↑ http://www.researchgate.net/profile/Burghardt_Wittig/
  4. ↑ Gerfried Stocker; Christine Schöpf (1 January 2000). Next sex: sex in the age of its procreative superfluousness. Springer. ISBN 978-3-211-83499-2.
  5. ↑ http://www.uni-heidelberg.de/fakultaeten/biowissenschaften/ipmb/biologie/woelfl/index.html
  6. ↑ " dSLIMming the immune system". BioCentury. July 14, 2003
  7. ↑ http://www.biotop.de/companies/details+M512a908c69d.html
  8. ↑ "Cancer gene therapy gets go-ahead in India". in-Pharma. By Kirsty Barnes, 09-Aug-2007
  9. ↑ Reed Business Information (27 May 1982). New Scientist. Reed Business Information. pp. 572–. ISSN 0262-4079.
  10. ↑ Rudolf Augstein (1994). Der Spiegel. R. Augstein.

External links

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