Job Boekhoven

Prof. Dr. Job Boekhoven is an Associate Professor at the Department of Bioscience, TUM School of Natural Sciences, Technical University of Munich. His research focuses on synthetic life, chemically fueled self-assembly, and supramolecular materials, aiming to synthesize life from scratch.

Research Interests include creating synthetic cells that compete for resources, replicate, and undergo Darwinian evolution. His lab designs molecules like lipids, peptides, and nucleic acids that self-assemble into active compartments regulated by chemical energy. These systems exhibit life-like hallmarks such as emergence, self-division, and controllable lifetimes.

Scientific Awards include:

• ERC Consolidator Grant (2024)
• Lecturer Award by Association of the Chemical Industry (2024)
• ERC Starting Grant (2019)
• Volkswagen Foundation 'Life?' Grant (2019)
• Max Planck Fellow (2019)
• VCI Dozentenpreis (2021)
• Thieme Chemistry Journal Award (2017)
• Rubicon Postdoctoral Fellowship (2013)

Publications highlight trends in nonequilibrium materials, dynamic combinatorial libraries, and protocell engineering. His work bridges synthetic chemistry with biophysics to explore life's origins and applications in materials science.