Sebastian Thallmair has been appointed Senior Fellow at the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS). He has been a research group leader and Fellow at FIAS since 2020 and was appointed W2 Professor at Goethe University Frankfurt in April 2026.
Sebastian Thallmair is a driving force within the SCALE Cluster of Excellence, where his research contributes to understanding cellular structures through computational modelling and simulation. His group combines approaches ranging from quantum chemistry and molecular dynamics to coarse-grained models to investigate biomolecular systems at different spatial and temporal resolutions.
A particular focus of his research is the development of light-controlled molecules and understanding their interactions with specific proteins. Within SCALE, this expertise contributes to the creation of digital representations of cellular structures and, ultimately, to a better understanding of cellular function and disease mechanisms.
We congratulate Sebastian Thallmair on this well-deserved appointment and look forward to his continued contributions to SCALE, FIAS and Goethe University Frankfurt.
For more information, please visit the FIAS website.
Photo: Sebastian Thallmair (left) was appointed Senior Fellow at FIAS on August 27, 2026. FIAS Director Jan Wörner congratulated him on behalf of the entire institute. Credit: Störiko/FIAS
Professor of Synthetic Biophysics at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) and SCALE member Edward Lemke is among the latest recipients of an ERC Advanced Grant, one of the most prestigious and competitive research funding awards in Europe.
The scientist is being honored for his pioneering work at the interface of synthetic biology, chemical biology, and biophysics, which he will now extend through a new project to image how proteins move and change shape inside living cells. The European Research Council’s Advanced Grant scheme is one of its most highly endowed funding instruments, reserved for established research leaders with an outstanding scientific track record who are looking to open up genuinely new fields of inquiry. Edward Lemke will receive around €3 million over the next five years to lead his project, Molecular Shape Microscopy (MShapeM), his second Advanced Grant, following one awarded in 2019 and an ERC Consolidator Grant in 2015.
MShapeM — Capturing molecules in motion
Understanding how proteins work inside living cells means seeing them in action but today’s imaging methods force a trade-off: nanoscale precision or real-time speed, not both. Techniques sharp enough to resolve a protein’s structure down to the nanometer typically only work on cells that have been fixed and are no longer alive, while live-cell imaging cannot capture that level of structural detail.
MShapeM is designed to close this gap by achieving real-time, nanometer-resolution imaging of how proteins’ shapes change as they function inside living cells. The project integrates advances across three domains: engineered protein and RNA labeling that incorporates fluorescent dyes at precise points within a protein; new dual-fluorogenic dye chemistry that improves signal clarity for live-cell imaging; and advanced super-resolution microscopy capable of tracking multiple dyes at very high temporal and spatial resolution simultaneously. Together, these tools aim to produce what Lemke’s team calls “molecular action movies” — continuous, high-resolution views of large, dynamic proteins whose conformational changes are central to their biological function but have remained invisible to every existing imaging method.
About Edward Lemke
Since 2018, Edward Lemke has served as Adjunct Director of the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) and Professor of Synthetic Biophysics at JGU Mainz. Lemke’s research focuses on intrinsically disordered proteins, proteins that lack a single fixed structure and instead shift between many different shapes, and on engineering synthetic biology tools to study how these dynamic molecules function inside cells. His honors include the 2025 Biophysical Society Fellowship, election as an EMBO Member in 2022, the FEBS Anniversary Award, the Chica and Heinz Schaller Award for Biomedical Research, and an Emmy Noether grant from the German Research Foundation (DFG), among others. He currently coordinates a DFG Priority Programme on functional phase separation and is spokesperson for a JGU-led Collaborative Research Center on polymer concepts in cellular function.
About the ERC Advanced Grant
The ERC Advanced Grant is one of four core funding schemes offered by the European Research Council, established by the European Union in 2007 to support frontier research of any nationality, age, or discipline. Advanced Grants are reserved for senior, established researchers with a significant track record of major research achievements over the past decade. The grants are funded through the EU’s Horizon Europe programme.
📖 More information: Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz press release: https://press.uni-mainz.de/erc-advanced-grants-for-two-researchers-of-mainz-university/
More Information on Lemke Lab: https://lemkelab.com
📸 Photo credit: Thomas Hartmann / IMB
Congratulations to Eckhard E. Elsen, our distinguished SCALE faculty member, on receiving the prestigious W.K.H. Panofsky Prize in Experimental Particle Physics 2025!
Prof. Dr. Elsen, who currently holds the position of Scientific Director of the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS), is recognized for his groundbreaking contributions to experimental particle physics. These include pioneering the HERA physics program and detectors, leading efforts in HERA physics exploitation that resulted in breakthrough measurements of the proton’s structure in previously unexplored kinematic regions, and making vital contributions to advancing quantum chromodynamics and enabling discoveries at the Large Hadron Collider.
The Panofsky Prize, awarded by the American Physical Society (APS), honors outstanding achievements in experimental particle physics and includes a $10,000 honorarium. This award is a testament to Dr. Elsen’s leadership and innovation in the field. We extend our heartfelt congratulations and look forward to his continued contributions to advancing scientific discovery.
We are delighted to announce that Dr. Bonnie Murphy has been awarded the prestigious Clara Immerwahr Award 2025. This esteemed recognition celebrates her outstanding contributions to catalysis research and her innovative approach to unraveling the structure and function of proteins critical to bioenergetic processes.
Dr. Murphy employs advanced techniques, including cryo-EM, biochemical, molecular, and electrochemical methods, to deepen our understanding of catalysis and bioenergetics. Her groundbreaking work continues to make significant strides in the scientific community.
The Clara Immerwahr Award honors exceptional young women scientists in the field of catalysis and is named after Dr. Clara Immerwahr, the first woman in Germany to earn a doctorate in physical chemistry. The award includes a €15,000 grant for a research stay at UniSysCat – Cluster of Excellence, promoting collaboration within this interdisciplinary research network.
We are incredibly proud of Dr. Murphy’s achievements and look forward to witnessing her continued success and contributions to the field.
SCALE member Eric Helfrich has been awarded an ERC Starting Grant for his research project “COMBINE” (“Bacterial Alkaloid Biosynthesis off the Beaten Path: Compartmentalization and Non-Enzymatic Transformations in Non-Canonical Alkaloid Biosynthesis”). This project will focus on a specific group of natural substances which are not formed by multistep enzymatic processes whose blueprints are present in the genome, making these natural substances impossible to predict.
The ERC’s Starting Grants support excellent researchers in the early stages of their independent scientific career within 2-7 years of experience since completion of their PhD. With up to €1.5 million for the projects over a period of up to five years, the researchers can set up their own research group and establish themselves as independent researchers.
More about Eic Helfrich’s research: https://www.helfrichlab.com/
The SCALE Excellence Initiative has officially submitted its full proposal for the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG’s) Excellence Strategy by the deadline of 22 August 2024. In addition to SCALE’s full proposal, further excellence initiatives and existing clusters of excellence within the Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) have also submitted their proposals.
The Clusters of Excellence funding line is designed by the DFG to support project-based funding in internationally competitive fields of research at universities or university consortia and to strengthen Germany’s position as an outstanding research hub in the long term and further improve its international competitiveness. The final funding decision on the future Clusters of Excellence will be made on 22 May 2025.
An overview about the RMU excellence initiatives can be found here (only in German): https://aktuelles.uni-frankfurt.de/forschung/rhein-main-universitaeten-reichen-exc-antraege-ein/
and detailed information about the Excellence Strategy (ExStra) here: https://www.dfg.de/en/research-funding/funding-initiative/excellence-strategy
Am 7. Mai 2024 fand erneut im Kunstverein Montez die Veranstaltung Wissen angezapft statt, bei der Lena Marie Seegers und SCALE-Mitglied Kathi Zarnack Einblicke in ihre Forschungen gaben und ihre persönlichen Erfahrungen mit den Zuhörern teilten. Interessierte erfuhren wie sich 24 Millionen Proteine in unseren Zellen organisieren und warum Frauen häufiger nach einem Herzinfarkt sterben als Männer.
Unter dem Motto Zwei Forschende, eine Moderatorin, ein Tresen und Live-Musik findet aktuell die zweite Runde der Veranstaltungsreihe Wissen angezapft der Goethe Universität Frankfurt statt. In diesem zwanglosen und humorvollen Bürger-Uni-Format geht es nicht nur um die reine Forschung und aktuelle Themen, sondern auch um die einzelnen Menschen, die hinter der Forschung stehen.
SCALE member Christian Münch has been awarded a LOEWE top professorship for his scientific work in the field of systems biology and molecular biology. LOEWE Top Professorships are endowed with funding of up to 3 million euros in order to appoint internationally renowned scientists to Hessen or to keep them in Hessen for a maximum of five years and to support the strategic profiling of the universities.
The SCALE consortium is officially invited to submit the full proposal for the Excellence Strategy (ExStra) and with it reaches the final stage of the competition. The SCALE draft proposal was one out of 143 draft proposals submitted to the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) in May 2023. The decision to invite 41 Excellence Initiatives to the final phase of the competition was made by the Excellence Commission on the basis of the Committee of Experts’ recommendations.
The Clusters of Excellence funding line is designed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) to support project-based funding in internationally competitive fields of research at universities or university consortia and to strengthen Germany’s position as an outstanding research hub in the long term and further improve its international competitiveness. The final funding decision on the future Clusters of Excellence will be made on 22 May 2025.
The official press release of the DFG can be read here: https://www.dfg.de/de/service/presse/pressemitteilungen/2024/pressemitteilung-nr-04
and detailed information about the Excellence Strategy (ExStra) here: https://www.dfg.de/en/research-funding/funding-initiative/excellence-strategy
In der aktuellen Ausgabe des UniReports wird die Themenreihe über die vier neuen Exzellenzinitiativen und das bereits bestehende Exzellenzcluster der Goethe Universität Frankfurt fortgesetzt. Darin werden jeweils zwei der Forschenden aus den einzelnen Clustern und ihre Arbeit in den Fokus gerückt. Einen Einblick in ihre Forschung und ihren Beitrag für SCALE haben in der zweiten Runde Kathi Zarnack und Achilleas Frangakis gewährt.
Der vollständige Beitrag wurde in der aktuellen Ausgabe der UniReport veröffentlicht (online): https://aktuelles.uni-frankfurt.de/unireport/schnappschuesse-aus-dem-zellinnern-scale/
Der erste Beitrag dieser Themenreihe mit Bonnie Murphy und Mike Heilemann kann hier nachgelesen werden (online): https://aktuelles.uni-frankfurt.de/unireport/scale-die-architektur-des-lebens/
