Karl-Peter Hopfner

Prof. Dr. Karl-Peter Hopfner is a Professor at the Gene Center and Department of Biochemistry of the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU Munich). Since 2015, he has served as Director of the Gene Center and leads a research group focused on structural molecular biology and genome stability. His academic career spans roles as Dean of the Gene Center (2014-2015), Full Professor (W3) since 2010, and earlier positions at LMU Munich.

• PhD, Biochemistry, Technical University Munich (1997), under Prof. Robert Huber
• Postdoctoral Researcher, The Scripps Research Institute (1999-2001)
• Postdoctoral Researcher, Max-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry (1998-1999)

His research focuses on structural molecular biology, particularly mechanisms of DNA repair, nuclease and helicase functions, chromatin remodeling, and the dynamics of protein complexes using cryo-EM. His work addresses genome stability and its implications in health and disease.

Scientific honors include the prestigious ERC Advanced Grant (2012, 2018), the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize (2017), and the EMBO Young Investigator Award (2002). He also holds memberships in the EMBO (2010) and the German Academy of Sciences, Leopoldina (2014).

Prof. Hopfner supervises a team of Doctoral Researchers and postdoctoral collaborators, including Anna-Maria Boggusch, Paulina Engel, Mariia Likhodeeva, and others. His lab is supported by grants from the DFG, ERC, and programs like m4, i-target, and immutrain.