Friedrich Simmel

Professor Friedrich Simmel (*1970) holds the Chair of Physics of Synthetic Biosystems at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) within the TUM School of Natural Sciences, Department of Bioscience. His research laboratory is located at Am Coulombwall 4a in Garching near Munich, where he leads a vibrant research group focused on the physics of synthetic biological systems.

Professor Simmel's research interests center on bionanotechnology, particularly artificial molecular machines and nanostructures made from DNA molecules, as well as the design of artificial biochemical control circuits. His work bridges physics, chemistry, and biology to create novel synthetic biosystems with programmable functions. Key research areas include DNA origami, DNA nanotechnology, synthetic gene circuits, and biomimetic systems.

His recent publications demonstrate a strong trend toward increasingly complex DNA-based nanodevices with applications in biosensing, nanomedicine, and synthetic biology. The research shows progression from fundamental DNA nanostructure design to functional systems with practical applications in diagnostics and biocomputation. His group has pioneered approaches for creating DNA-based nanorobots, synthetic membrane channels, and programmable biochemical oscillators.

• ERC Advanced Grant (2015)
• Human frontier science program (HFSP) young investigator award (2006)
• Emmy Noether Young Researcher of the German Research Foundation (2002)
• acatech - the German Academy of Science and Engineering (2013)

Professor Simmel actively mentors numerous students and junior researchers, as evidenced by the many co-instructors listed on his practical courses. His research has been supported by prestigious grants including the ERC Advanced Grant. His laboratory maintains strong collaborations across disciplines, working with researchers in microfluidics, synthetic biology, and biomedical engineering. The group operates within TUM's advanced infrastructure for biophysics and nanotechnology, including facilities for electron microscopy, NMR spectroscopy, and X-ray crystallography.