Christoph Kurat receives Heisenberg Professorship

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Dr Christoph Kurat is a research group leader at the Biomedical Center (BMC) of LMU Munich and has been accepted onto the prestigious Heisenberg Programme of the German Research Foundation (DFG).

Outstanding scientists who already meet all the requirements for a lifetime professorship are the target group of the Heisenberg Programme. It gives them the chance to carry out their own research and develop their academic profile, with the clear goal of securing a permanent position. He was able to convince the DFG reviewers and the University of Bayreuth with his previous research achievements and his scientific concept.

Christoph Kurat's research focuses on how eukaryotic chromosomes are replicated during the S phase of the cell cycle. A particular focus is placed on the question of how replication complexes interact with chromosomes and how this process is regulated. Methodologically, his research group combines genetic and cell biological approaches with biochemical reconstitution. In a study published in Nature (Chacin et al., 2023), the team demonstrated that the Origin Recognition Complex (ORC) recognises not only replication origins but is also actively involved in shaping the chromatin structure — a decisive factor in the initiation of DNA replication — making a significant contribution to chromatin and replication research.