Carmen Birchmeier

Carmen Birchmeier is a Full Professor at the Medical Faculty of Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and a leading researcher at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC). She coordinates the MDC Neuroscience Program and serves on the Executive Board of the NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence. Her research focuses on developmental biology, cell signaling, and the molecular mechanisms underlying nervous system and muscle development.

Education: PhD in Molecular Biology from the University of Zürich (1984), followed by postdoctoral training at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (1984–1989). She established her independent research group at the Max Delbrück Lab in Cologne (1989–1995) before moving to Berlin.

Research Interests: Investigates signal transduction pathways (e.g., Notch, ErbB, and c-Met) in developmental processes, including neural crest cell migration, muscle progenitor cell differentiation, and Schwann cell myelination. Her work bridges molecular genetics, mouse models, and cellular biology to uncover mechanisms of tissue formation and disease.

Awards: Recipient of the Leibniz Award (2002) and EMBO Membership (2001). Her contributions to developmental neurobiology have been recognized internationally.

Leadership & Grants: Deputy Speaker of SFB 665 (Developmental Disturbances of the Brain), DFG Fachkollegium Member, and advisor to multiple institutes including the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry. Her work spans academic and clinical research collaborations.

Labs/Teams: Heads the Signal Transduction/Developmental Biology Research Group at MDC, focusing on interdisciplinary approaches to understand developmental disorders and regenerative medicine strategies.