Title at NITech

Professor (2017)

Affiliation, Institution or University

Division of Biology and Chemistry, Paul Scherrer Institute, Switzerland
Professor for Structural Biology, D-BIOL, ETH Zurich, Switzerland

Introduction

Prof. Gebhard Schertler is investigating the structure and function of G protein coupled receptors (GPCRs). When the group was located at the MRC Laboratory for Molecular Biology (Cambridge, UK), it focused on 3D structural analysis by X-ray and electron crystallography and solved the atomic structures of several GPCRs (rhodopsin, beta adrenergic receptors). With this expertise, he successfully revealed the mechanisms of light-induced rhodopsin activation and agonist-binding to a GPCR. Since his move to the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in 2009, he established an interdisciplinary research group on GPCRs, including crystallography, electron microscopy, NMR, biophysics, bioinformatics, and a platform for protein expression/purification/crystallization. He is also responsible for biological applications on the Swiss Free Electron Laser (SwissFEL) and is involved in the experimental setup and design of biology beamlines for optimization of both, biomolecular nanocrystallography and biological X-FEL imaging. He is also involved in the development of the innovation area, and has founded two spin out companies. Currently he is the division head of Biology and Chemistry at PSI, and he is full Professor for Structural Biology at the ETH in Zürich, Switzerland.