Welcome to the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics!

Welcome to the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics!

We study the structure and function of proteins which regulate vital cellular processes using a wide methodological repertoire including advanced light and electron microscopy and as well as computational biology.

Our Research


Ernst Bamberg – The Functional Analysis of Electrogenic Membrane Proteins
Martin Beck – Molecular Sociology
Ulrich Ermler – Enzyme Mechanism
Ana J. García-Sáez
Gerhard Hummer – Theoretical Biophysics
Werner Kühlbrandt – Structural Biology
Eugene Kim – Structure and Dynamics of Chromosomes
Melanie McDowell – Membrane Protein Biogenesis
Hartmut Michel – Molecular Membrane Biology
Bonnie Murphy – Redox and Metalloproteins
Beata Turoňová – Image Processing
Florian Wilfling – Mechanisms of Cellular Quality Control

Overview

Scientific Facilities


Sonja Welsch – Electron Microscopy
Julian Langer – Mass Spectrometry
https://brain.mpg.de/imaging

News

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Visualizing the Main Gate into Mitochondria

Research News
Researchers at the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics have determined a high-resolution structure of the main gate into mitochondria using cryoEM.
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Close-up of metal laboratory equipment with coiled tubes, superimposed on an image of a dense forest and a swamp with grasses and water.

Microbes Can Reduce Their Need for Nickel

Research News
Methane-producing archaea are more adaptable to nutrient-poor habitats than previously thought.
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Work with us

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Latest Publications

1.
Adriaenssens, E.; Schaar, S.; Cook, A. S. I.; Stuke, J. F. M.; Sawa-Makarska, J.; Nguyen, T. N.; Ren, X.; Schuschnig, M.; Romanov, J.; Khuu, G. et al.; Uoselis, L.; Lazarou, M.; Hummer, G.; Hurley, J. H.; Martens, S.: Reconstitution of BNIP3/NIX-mitophagy initiation reveals hierarchical flexibility of the autophagy machinery. Nature Cell Biology (2025)
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2.
North, B. J.; Fracchiolla, D.; Ragusa, M. J.; Martens, S.; Shoemaker, C. J.: The rapidly expanding role of LC3-interacting regions in autophagy. Journal of Cell Biology 224 (8), e202504076 (2025)
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3.
Agip, A.-N. A.; Ornelas, P.; Yang, T.-J.; Uboldi, E.; Häder, S.; McDowell, M.; Kühlbrandt, W.: Structures of Chaetomium thermophilum TOM complexes with bound preproteins. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 122 (29), e2507279122 (2025)
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4.
Nomura, S.; San Segundo-Acosta, P.; Protasov, E.; Kaneko, M.; Kahnt, J.; Murphy, B. J.; Shima, S.: Electron flow in hydrogenotrophic methanogens under nickel limitation. Nature (2025)
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