Director of the Institute of Metabolism and Cell Death
Prof. Marcus Conrad
"The recent recognition of distinct regulated cell death pathways presents tantalizing possibilities for gaining control over life and death decisions made by cells in order to prevent (neuro)degenerative diseases and to combat cancer. "
Research we do
Knowledge of the molecular mechanisms underlying life and death decisions in (patho)physiological contexts is key for both the identification of biomarkers and the development of novel therapies to combat degenerative diseases and cancer. At our Institute we bridge the gap between basic science and translation through the identification and pharmacological targeting of key nodes in cell death and necro-inflammatory processes.
Skills & Expertise & Scientific Interests
Cell Death Ferroptosis Redox Signaling Oxidative Stress Drug Discovery Neurodegeneration Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury Cancer
Professional Background
Distinguished Professor
Graduate School of Medicine, National University Corporation Tohoku University
Sendai, Japan
Professor
Technical University of Munich (TUM), TUM School of Natural Sciences Garching, Germany
Institute Director
Institute of Metabolism and Cell Death, Helmholtz Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Germany
Research Group Leader Drug Discovery
Institute of Developmental Genetics, Helmholtz Munich, German Research Center for Environmental Health, German
Head of Transgenic Core Unit
German Research Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Munich, Germany
Laboratory Head
Bayer-Schering Pharma AG, Berlin, Germany
Global Drug Discovery - Transgenic and Specialized in vivo Pharmacology in Target Identification and Biomarker Research in Oncology
Research Group Leader
Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology and Tumor Genetics, Helmholtz Munich, Germany
Guest Researcher
Yamagata University, Tsuruoka, Japan
Senior Researcher
Karolinska Institute, Department of Oncology – Pathology
Project Leader
Department of Comparative Medicine, Helmholtz Munich, Germany
Postdoc
Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology and Tumor Genetics, Helmholtz Munich, Germany
Education
PhD Student
Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology and Tumor Genetics, Helmholtz Munich, Germany, and Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany
Thesis: “Generation of transgenic mice deficient for the selenoproteins mitochondrial thioredoxin reductase and phospholipid hydroperoxide glutathione peroxidase (PHGPx) and characterization of a sperm nuclei-specific form of PHGPx”
LMU Munich: Faculty for Biology, 31.10.2001 (mark: “summa cum laude” - highest possible score)
Diploma (equivalent to M.Sc.)
Biology at University of Konstanz, Germany
Thesis: „Thymidylat-Synthase als Modellenzym für molekulare Adaptation an hochosmolare Umwelt“ (mark: 1.0 - highest possible score)
Studies of Biology
University of Konstanz, Germany
Miscellaneous
Organizer of the fourth ferroptosis conference (by Cold Spring Harbor Asia, CSHA) entitled “Iron, Reactive Oxygen Species, and Ferroptosis in Life Death & Disease; November 15 – 20, 2026, Awaji, Japan
Organizer of the Minerva Workshop “Iron, Ferroptosis and Related Death Modules: Regulation and Clinical Implications”; Weizmann Institute, May 04, 2026, Rohohot, Israel
Organizer of the 1st International DFG SPP 2306 Meeting, Feldkirchen-Westerhamm, September 30 – October 02, 2025
Organizer of the third ferroptosis conference (by Cold Spring Harbor Asia, CSHA) entitled “Iron, Reactive Oxygen Species, and Ferroptosis in Life Death & Disease; November 03 – 07, 2024, Suzhou, China
Organizer of the first EMBO Workshop on ferroptosis entitled “Ferroptosis: When metabolism meets cell death”; April 23 -27, 2023, Kloster Seeon, Germany
Priority Programme Coordinator of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft Priority Programme “Ferroptosis: from Molecular Basics to Clinical Applications” (SPP 2306) (2021 – 2026) with 25 participating centers/universities
Organizer of the second ferroptosis conference (organized by Cold Spring Harbor Asia, CSHA) entitled “Iron, Reactive Oxygen Species, and Ferroptosis in Life Death & Disease; October 10 -14, 2022, Awaji, Japan
Advisory board member - Molecular Cell
Co-Founder and Shareholder of ROSCUE THERAPEUTICS GmbH
Organizer of the first public ferroptosis conference (organized by Cold Spring Harbor Asia, CSHA) entitled “Iron, Reactive Oxygen Species, and Ferroptosis in Life Death & Disease, Suzhou, China
Symposium organizer of the 24th Annual SfRBM Meeting, Baltimore, USA
Programme Coordinator of a research program grant of the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP)
Symposium organizer of the 17th SFRRI Conference, Kyoto, Japan
Co-organizer of the DFG Priority Program SPP 1170
Honors and Awards
- Appointed member of the “Hinterzarten Circle on Cancer Research” of the German Research Foundation (DFG) 2022 - 2027
- ISI Highly Cited Award “Biology and Biochemistry” & “Molecular Biology and Genetics” 2025
- CDD Jürg Tschopp Prize (European Cell Death Organisation, ECDO) 2025
- Editorial Board Member Cell Death & Differentiation 2025
- Paul-Martini-Preis 2025
- ERC Proof of Concept Grant “FERADICATE” 2025 - 2026
- Advisory Board Member Cell Chemical Biology 2025
- ISI Highly Cited Award “Biology and Biochemistry” & “Molecular Biology and Genetics” 2024
- Galenus-von-Pergamon-Price 2024
- European Cell Death Organisation (ECDO) Honorary Award 2024
- ISI Highly Cited Award Cross Fields 2024
- ISI Highly Cited Award “Biology and Biochemistry” 2023
- ISI Highly Cited Award Cross Fields 2022
- ISI Highly Cited Award Cross Fields 2021
- ERC Advanced Grant “IRONDEATH” 2020
- ISI Highly Cited Award Cross Fields 2020
- m4 Award (BioM – Munich) “Pre-Seed Competition for Personalized Medicine” 2017
- m4 Award (BioM – Munich) “Pre-Seed Competition for Personalized Medicine” 2012
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Travel Award) 2007
- European Molecular Biology Laboratory (Travel Award) 2005