Joachim Seelig
Joachim Seelig | |
|---|---|
 Joachim Seelig (2012) | |
| Born | 29 March 1942 |
| Nationality | German |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Physical chemist |
| Institutions | University of Cologne, Biozentrum University of Basel |
Joachim Heinrich Seelig (born 29 March 1942 in Cologne) is a German physical chemist and specialist in NMR Spectroscopy. He is one of the founding fathers of the Biozentrum of the University of Basel.[1]
Life
Joachim Seelig studied chemistry and physics from 1961 till 1966 at the University of Cologne. In 1968 he graduated with a doctorate under the guidance of Manfred Eigen at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen. As a postdoc he conducted research on electron spin resonance at Stanford University in 1968/69. In 1970 he moved as a postdoc to the Institute of Physical Chemistry at the University of Basel where he became a group leader and assistant professor in 1972. He became full professor in 1974 and in 1982 Professor of Structural Biology at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel.[2]
Work
Joachim Seelig developed biophysical methods for studying the structure and thermodynamic properties of biological cell membranes. He investigated the interactions of proteins and lipids by EPR-spectroscopy, deuterium and phosphorus nuclear magnetic resonance, neutron diffraction and calorimetric methods. The quantitative characterization of the biological membrane became the international standard for further theoretical studies. His second field of research was magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) in the human and animals. With C-13 NMR the metabolism in the human and animal brain could be traced in a non-invasive manner. With faster MRI imaging techniques the tonotopy of the human brain has been described.
Awards and honors
- 1987 Cloëtta-Prize, Prof. M. Cloëtta Foundation, Zurich[3]
- 1991 Bijvoet Medal, Utrecht University, NL[4]
- 1994 Heinrich Wieland Prize, Munich[5]
- 2000 Applied Physical Chemistry Award 2000, European Society for applied Physical Chemistry [6]
- 2005 Avanti Award in Lipids, Biophysical Society (USA)[7]
Notable publications
- A. Seelig and J. Seelig, The dynamic structure of fatty acyl chains in a phospholipid bilayer measured by deuterium magnetic resonance. In Biochemistry 13, 4839-4845 (1974) PMID: 4371820
- J. Seelig, P.M. Macdonald, and P.G. Scherer, Phospholipid head groups as sensors of electric charge in membranes. In Biochemistry 26, 7535-7541 (1987) PMID: 3322401
- N. Beckmann, I. Turkalij, J. Seelig and U. Keller, 13C NMR for the assessment of human brain glucose metabolism in vivo. In Biochemistry 30, 6362-6366 (1991) PMID: 2054342
- A. Ziegler, P. Nervi, M. Dürrenberger, and J. Seelig, The Cationic Cell-Penetrating Peptide CPP(TAT) Derived from the HIV-1 Protein TAT is Rapidly Transported into Living Fibroblasts: Optical, Biophysical, and Metabolic Evidence. In Biochemistry 44, 138-148 (2005) PMID: 15628854
- F. Zehender, A. Ziegler, H.-J. Schönfeld, and J. Seelig, Thermodynamics of protein self-association and unfolding, The case of apolipoprotein A-I. In Biochemistry 51, 1269-1280 (2012) PMID: 22320308
References
- ^ "Die Entstehung und Funktion des Biozentrums" (PDF). unigeschichte.unibas.ch. Retrieved 2013-11-19.
- ^ "Official website". Biozentrum.unibas.ch. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
- ^ Cloëtta-Prize cloetta-stiftung.ch. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
- ^ Bijvoet Medal Winners uu.nl Retrieved 2013-11-19.
- ^ Heinrich Wieland Laureates heinrich-wieland-preis.de Retrieved 2013-11-19
- ^ Award "Applied Physical Chemistry" 2000 eurostar-science.org. Retrieved 2013-11-18.
- ^ Avanti Award in Lipids Winner biophysics.org. Retrieved 2013-11-18.