Jochen Rink

Prof. Jochen Rink is Director of the Department of Tissue Dynamics and Regeneration at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Göttingen, Germany. His research focuses on regenerative biology, stem cell dynamics, and evolutionary mechanisms in planarian flatworms. He leads an interdisciplinary team using genomic, biochemical, and theoretical approaches to study pattern formation, body scaling, and regeneration.

Education:

• Bachelor of Arts in Natural Sciences, Cambridge University (1997-2000)
• Ph.D. in Molecular Cell Biology, Max Planck Institute, Dresden (2000-2006)
• Postdoc at University of Utah (2006-2011)

Research Interests:

• Regenerative mechanisms in planarians
• Self-organizing patterning systems
• Evolution of body size and regeneration capacity
• Comparative genomics across planarian species

Awards:

• ERC Consolidator Grant (2015)
• EMBO Young Investigator Award (2015)
• Otto Hahn Medal (2005)

Labs/Teams: Maintains a global planarian species collection ('zoo') for comparative studies. Collaborates with physicists, modelers, and field biologists.