Stefan Lichtenthaler

Prof. Dr. Stefan Lichtenthaler is a full Professor at the Technical University of Munich (TUM) and Group Leader at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE). He is also a regular member of the Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences (GSN) and co-speaker for the Medical Life Science and Technology (TUM-MLST) PhD program.

Education:

• Dr. rer. nat. (summa cum laude), University of Heidelberg (1998)
• M.Sc. thesis, University of Heidelberg (1994)

Research Interests: His work focuses on the molecular basis of Alzheimer’s disease (AD), particularly proteolytic processes involving ADAM10 (alpha-secretase), BACE1 (beta-secretase), and gamma-secretase. He investigates their physiological roles in healthy brains, pathophysiological contributions to AD, and therapeutic targeting strategies. Additional interests include microglia-dependent inflammatory processes, genetic risk factors (e.g., RHBDF2/iRhom2, MS4A4A), and neuroproteomics for secretome analysis and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) diagnostics.

Article Trends: Recent studies explore BACE2’s role in VEGFR3 signaling (2024), blood biomarkers for secretase activity (2022), ADAM proteases in SARS-CoV-2 infection (2022), and methodological advances in proteomics (2020). Themes emphasize protease-substrate interactions, drug development safety, and interdisciplinary approaches.

Scientific Awards:

• Alzheimer Research Prize (Breuer Foundation, 2014)
• Emmy-Noether Scholarship (DFG, 1999-2001)
• Dr. Sophie Bernthsen Prize (1994)

Advising and Collaborations: He mentors current PhD students Andree Schmidt and Laura Hoffmann, and has graduated Martina Pigoni. He contributes to academic committees, including the DZNE tenure committee and the Graduate School of Systemic Neurosciences (LMU).

Labs and Teams: His group at DZNE Munich and TUM employs Exploris 480 Orbitrap and timsTOF Pro mass spectrometers for discovery proteomics, using mouse models, iPSC-derived human cells, and clinical trial data to bridge basic research with translational applications.