Dr. Marcus Conrad
Director of the Institute of Metabolism and Cell Death"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. "
"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 SignalingOxidative StressDrug DiscoveryNeurodegenerationIschemia/Reperfusion InjuryCancer
Professional Background
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 Zentrum München, 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 Zentrum München, Germany
Guest Researcher
Yamagata University, Tsuruoka, Japan
Senior Researcher
Karolinska Institute, Department of Oncology – Pathology
Project Leader
Department of Comparative Medicine, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germany
Postdoc
Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology and Tumor Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, Germany
Education
PhD Student
Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology and Tumor Genetics, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 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 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
ISI Highly Cited Award Cross Fields
2022ISI Highly Cited Award Cross Fields
2021ERC Advanced Grant “IRONDEATH”
2020ISI Highly Cited Award Cross Fields
2020m4 Award (BioM – Munich) “Pre-Seed Competition for Personalized Medicine”
2017m4 Award (BioM – Munich) “Pre-Seed Competition for Personalized Medicine”
2012Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Travel Award)
2007European Molecular Biology Laboratory (Travel Award)
2005
