Peter Hegemann | |
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![]() Hegemann receiving the Hertie Senior Research Chair Professorship for Neurosciences in 2015 | |
Born | [2] | 11 December 1954
Alma mater | Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich University of Münster |
Known for | Discovery of channelrhodopsin |
Children | 3 |
Awards | Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine Warren Alpert Foundation Prize Rumford Prize Canada Gairdner International Award Otto Warburg Medal Harvey Prize Massry Prize The Brain Prize Louis-Jeantet Prize for Medicine Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize Wiley Prize in Biomedical Sciences |
Scientific career | |
Fields | Biophysics Optogenetics |
Institutions | Humboldt University of Berlin University of Regensburg Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry Syracuse University |
Thesis | Halorhodopsin, die lichtgetriebene Chloridpumpe in Halobacterium halobium: Untersuchungen zur Struktur und Funktion (1984) |
Doctoral advisor | Dieter Oesterhelt[1] |
Peter Hegemann (born 11 December 1954) is a Hertie Senior Research Chair for Neurosciences and a professor of Experimental Biophysics at the Department of Biology, Faculty of Life Sciences, Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany.[3][4] He is known for his discovery of channelrhodopsin, a type of ion channels regulated by light, thereby serving as a light sensor. This created the field of optogenetics, a technique that controls the activities of specific neurons by applying light. He has received numerous accolades, including the Rumford Prize, the Shaw Prize in Life Science and Medicine, and the Albert Lasker Award for Basic Medical Research.