Michael Hippler

Professor Michael Hippler leads a research group at the Institute of Plant Biology and Biotechnology at the University of Münster, Germany. He also serves as a Special Appointed Professor at Okayama University, Japan, from April 2019 until March 2028 (3 months per year) through the Okayama University RECTOR Program. His research focuses on plant cell responses to environmental stresses and the molecular mechanisms involved in photosynthetic machinery.

His primary research interests include adaptation to low iron availability, light-harvesting versus light-dissipation mechanisms, hydrogen metabolism, calcium-dependent protein phosphorylation in plants, photosystem function and regulation, N-glycosylation in algae, and bioinformatics and proteomics. He primarily uses the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii as a model system, combining molecular techniques like reverse genetics and proteomics to study these processes.

His recent publications demonstrate a strong focus on N-glycosylation in algae, particularly examining protein modifications and their effects on cellular functions. His work also extensively covers photosystem structure and function, employing techniques like chemical crosslinking, mass spectrometry, single particle electron microscopy, and cryo-electron microscopy. The research has significant implications for understanding photosynthetic regulation and adaptation mechanisms.

Professor Hippler leads the Mass Spectrometry-based Proteomics Unit Biology of Plants (MSPUB), which provides large-scale proteomic analyses for research groups at the Institute. The laboratory is equipped with a hybrid linear ion-trap mass spectrometer (Q-Exactive plus-Orbitrap) coupled to an Ultimate Nano liquid chromatography system.

He supervises numerous PhD, Master's, and Bachelor's students and has developed several bioinformatics tools including GenomicPeptideFinder (GPF), qTRACE, pyQms, SugarPy, and Crosslinx. His research is funded by various sources including the DFG FOR 5573 "Dynamic Regulation of the Proton Motive Force in Photosynthesis" consortium.