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Dieter Oesterhelt
Biochemist

Dieter Oesterhelt

Famoose for

Discovering bacteriorhodopsin and its light-driven proton-pump function.

Bacteriorhodopsin · Lasker Award

Born
10 November 1940
Birthplace
Munich
Died
28 November 2022

More people

Florence NightingaleHelping establish modern professional nursing.Alexander FlemingDiscovering penicillin’s antibacterial effect.Edward JennerDeveloping smallpox vaccination using material from cowpox.

Dieter Oesterhelt

Dieter Oesterhelt was a German biochemist whose studies of microbial membrane proteins helped establish foundations for optogenetics.

Early life

Training

Studied chemistry at LMU Munich and worked with biochemist Feodor Lynen.

Career

  1. 1969

    San Francisco research

    Studied microbial membranes with Walther Stoeckenius.

  2. 1976–1979

    Würzburg

    Held a professorship.

  3. 1980–2008

    Max Planck Institute

    Directed research at the Institute of Biochemistry.

Contributions

Bacteriorhodopsin

Identified a retinal-containing protein and showed its role in pumping protons.

Lasker Award

Shared the Basic Medical Research Award.

Beyond research

Scientific community

Was a member of the Leopoldina and Academia Europaea.

Sources & photo creditBiography and career ↗Biographical references ↗Additional biographical source ↗

Original photograph. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.

Photo: Lasker Foundation. Source credit retained; reuse licence not established · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.