Department Chemical Biology II (Christian Hackenberger)
CV Prof. Christian Hackenberger

Academic career
1996 – 1998 | Undergraduate studies and prediploma in Chemistry Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg |
1998 – 1999 | Graduate studies and M.Sc. with Prof. Samuel H. Gellman Univ. of Wisconsin/Madison, USA |
2000 – 2003 | Ph.D. research with Prof. Carsten Bolm (summa cum laude) RWTH-Aachen |
2003 – 2005 | Postdoctoral work with Prof. Barbara Imperiali Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA |
2004 | Research stay with Prof. Sheena E. Radford University of Leeds, UK |
2005 – 2006 | Junior group leader as Liebig-Scholar (FCI) Freie Universität Berlin |
2006 – 2011 | Emmy-Noether-Group leader Freie Universität Berlin |
2011 | Habilitation and venia legendi in Organic Chemistry Freie Universität Berlin |
2011 – 2012 | Associate Professor (W2) for Bioorganic Chemistry Freie Universität Berlin |
2012 – | Leibniz-Humboldt-Professor (W3) for Chemical Biology Humboldt Universität zu Berlin and FMP |
Research interests
- Development of chemoselective ligation and modification strategies for functional protein synthesis
- Labeling strategies for antibody- and nanobody-conjugates, generation of antibody-drug-conjugates (ADCs)
- Synthesis and proteomic analysis of labile phosphorylated peptides (pLys and pCys)
- Intracellular delivery and targeting of functional proteins
- Functional investigation of the Alzheimer-relevant Tau protein
- Engineering of protein-based multivalent scaffolds, metabolic oligosaccharide engineering
Honors and Awards
2020 | Breakthrough of the Year-Award (Life Sciences) by the Falling Walls Foundation |
2019 | Novartis Lecturer and Visiting Professor New York University (NYU) |
2018 | Leonidas Zervas Award of the European Peptide Society |
2018 | JSPS Invitational Fellowship (Japan) |
2018 | Leibniz Gründerpreis for the foundation of Tubulis Technologies |
2018 | Visiting Professor at the Leopold-Franzens Universität Innsbruck |
2016 | Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry |
2014 | “The best 40 under 40 in Germany” (Welt am Sonntag) |
2013 | Harlan L. and Margaret L. Goering Visiting Professor of Chemistry (UW Madison/WI, USA) |
2012 | ORCHEM-Award of the GDCh for junior investigators |
2011/2012 | Recognized as “Top 40 young German scientists under 40” (Capital) |
2011 | Heinz-Maier-Leibnitz-Award of the DFG |
2011 | ADUC-Award of the GDCh for junior investigators |
2011 | Dozentenstipendium of the “Fonds der chemischen Industrie” (FCI) and the Aventis Foundation |
2010 | Recognition in the competition “Junior investigator of the year 2010” |
2010 | “Plus 3”-Award of the Boehringer-Ingelheim Foundation |
2009 | Price of the GDCh section “Macromolecular Chemistry” (Fachgruppe Makromolekulare Chemie) |
2008 | Price of the Otto-Röhm Memorial Foundation |
2006 | Emmy-Noether-Group leader |
2005 | Liebig-Scholarship of the FCI |
2005 | Thieme-Journal Award |
2003/2005 | Postdoctoral fellowship of the DAAD and DFG |
2003 | Borchers Medal and Friedrich-Wilhelm Price (RWTH Aachen) |
2001 | Scholarship for scientific journalism of the FCI |
2000/2001 | “Kekulé”-Ph.D.-Scholarship of the FCI and of the “Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes” |
1998 | Study-abroad Scholarship of the Universität Freiburg within the “Academic-Year-Programs” |
1997 | Scholarship of the “Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes” |
Further activities/memberships/commissions of trust
2019 - | Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of Chemical Science (Royal Society of Chemistry RSC) |
2016 - | Member of the Editorial Advisory Board of ChemBioChem (Wiley-VCh) |
2015 – | Associate Editor Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry (Royal Society of Chemistry RSC) |
2011 – 2018 | Spokesman and Head of the DFG priority program (DFG Schwerpunktprogramm) SPP 1623 |
2012 – | Liaison professor (Vertrauensdozent) of the “Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes” |
2008 – | Elected Member of the Max Bergmann Society, Germany |
2008 – | Independent project leader (TP B5) and member of the executive board in the SFB 765 |
2002 – | Member of the American Chemical Society (ACS) |
2001 – | Member of the GDCh |
2012 – 2014 | Member of the Advisory Board of Organic and Biomolecular Chemistry (RSC) |
2011 – 2013 | Head of the GDCh section in Berlin (Ortsverband Berlin) |
2008 – 2012 | Member of the network “Excellence at German Universities” of the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation |
2008 – 2012 | Spokesman and Head of the Research Training Group (Graduiertenkolleg) within the SFB 765 |
2007 – 2012 | Member of the permanent advisory board of the Dahlem Research School |
2001 | Editorial office assistant and author at the WDR television (Wissenschaftsredaktion) |
Conference organization
2019 | Organization (Head) Emil-Fischer-Symposium in Berlin |
2019 | Organization (Head) 8th Chemical Protein Synthesis Meeting in Berlin |
2017 | Organizaation (Board Member) 7th Cemical Protein Synthesis Meeting in Haifa |
2015 | Organization (Board Member) ECBS/ICBS "Chemical Biology" in Berlin |
2014 | Organization (Head) 5th Sion-German Conference “Frontiers of Chemistry” in Berlin |
2014 | Organization (Head) GDCh-Biochemistry Symposium “Bioorthogonal Chemistry” in Berlin |
2013 | Organization (Board Member) 5th Chemical Protein Synthesis Meeting in Vienna |
2012 | Organization (Board Member) 4th Sion-German Conference “Frontiers of Chemistry” in Bejing |
2008 | Organization (Head) 5th Emmy-Noether-Meeting in Chemistry 2008 at the FU Berlin |
2007 | Organization (Head) 17th symposium “Bioorganische Chemie” for junior researchers |
2006 | Organization (Head) 16th symposium “Bioorganische Chemie” for junior researchers |