Jörg Renkawitz

Jörg Renkawitz is a Professor at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), leading the Renkawitz Group at the Biomedical Center Munich (BMC) within the Department of Cardiovascular Physiology and Pathophysiology. His research focuses on immune cell mechanobiology, particularly how immune cells navigate complex 3D environments, adapt cytoskeletal dynamics, and maintain organelle integrity under mechanical stress.

• Education: PhD in the lab of Prof. Stefan Jentsch at LMU, studying DNA repair mechanisms.

Research Interests: The lab investigates cell motility, organelle positioning, and host-pathogen interactions using advanced imaging, CRISPR engineering, and microfluidic devices. Key discoveries include the nucleus-as-ruler mechanism for path optimization and pathogen exploitation of myosin contractility.

Scientific Trends: His 15 most recent publications emphasize immune cell migration, organelle mechanobiology, and microenvironment engineering, with methods spanning live-cell microscopy to genome-wide CRISPR screens.

Scientific Awards & Funding:

• EMBO Long-Term Fellowship
• ISTFELLOW Marie-Curie Cofund Fellowship
• Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds (BIF) PhD Fellowship
• Endowed Peter Hans Hofschneider Professorship for Molecular Medicine
• SFB914 Collaborative Research Center

Students: Janina Kroll, Mauricio Ruiz Fernandez, Madeleine Schmitt, Katarzyna Stefanowski, and Haohan Zhang are active members of the Renkawitz Group.

Labs & Teams: The group collaborates with the Häcker Lab (Hoxb8 cell engineering), Sixt Lab (cell migration), and Walzog Group (leukocyte trafficking), while maintaining interdisciplinary ties to bioengineering and imaging networks.