Ulrich Terpitz

Dr. Ulrich Terpitz is a Senior Lecturer and Groupleader in the Department of Biotechnology and Biophysics at the University of Würzburg, Germany. His research focuses on the biophysics of fungi and optogenetics, protein engineering, and super-resolution microscopy.

• Education: Studied Biology at Friedrich Schiller University Jena (2001-2004) and University of Hamburg (1998-2001). PhD in Biochemistry (2005-2009) from Johann Wolfgang Goethe University Frankfurt and Max Planck Institute of Biophysics.
• Professional Experience: Postdoctoral Researcher at Max Planck Institute of Biophysics (2009-2011), followed by a Lecturer and Groupleader position at the University of Würzburg since 2011.

Dr. Terpitz's work bridges fungal biophysics, optogenetics, and advanced imaging techniques. He has extensively studied fungal stress responses, including roles of TPC1 channels in plant stress adaptation, rhodopsins in fungal pathogenesis, and immunological synapse formation in host-fungal interactions. His development of expansion microscopy protocols for fungal systems has enabled subdiffraction-resolution studies of cross-kingdom interactions and cellular ultrastructures.

In 2023, he contributed to the first joint International Symposium on Fungal Stress and Fungal Biology Conference, highlighting global collaboration. Earlier studies in 2022 and 2021 explored fungal virulence mechanisms, plant ion channel dynamics, and miRNA trafficking between human monocytes and Candida albicans. His 2021 papers also addressed rhodopsin engineering for optogenetic applications and the role of photoreceptors in gene regulation in Ustilago maydis.

Dr. Terpitz employs super-resolution microscopy and electrophysiological methods to investigate fungal pathogenicity, plant stress responses, and protein dynamics. His work has implications for antifungal strategies and crop stress tolerance.