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
