Urzut Fischer from JMU Würzburg: Member of the Embo elected!

Urzut Fischer from JMU Würzburg: Member of the Embo elected!

Würzburg, Deutschland - On July 1, 2025, the Julius Maximilians University (JMU) Würzburg is celebrated: Prof. Dr. Utz Fischer, a respected biochemical professor, was elected to the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO). This award, which applies for life and is based on the proposal and choice of existing members, underlines excellence in the life sciences for which the Embo has been standing for many years. This is reported by Uni Würzburg

Prof. Fischer and his team are renowned researchers in biochemistry that deal with the merging and functioning of macromolecular machines in cells. These machines, which consist of proteins and nucleic acids, play a crucial role in all cells and are essential for receiving information from genes and for the synthesis of proteins. Control over the production of these machines is of the highest priority for the organism, since a malfunction can be connected to diseases-for example with the SMN complex, which is responsible for the spinal muscle atrophy.

research and success

fischer is also a member of the new Cluster of Excellence Nucleate, which was launched by the JMU and the Ludwig Maximilians University (LMU) and the Technical University of Munich (TUM). This cluster is committed to understanding the functioning of nucleic acids (RNA and DNA) and the development of new medical therapy approaches. Fischer actively contributes to an area that is very popular in modern medicine.

Utz Fischer was born in Berlin in 1964 and started his academic career with a biochemical degree at the Free University of Berlin. After his doctorate and habilitation at the University of Marburg, he gained international experience at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute in Philadelphia (USA) before returning to Germany in 1998 and heading for a youth group at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Martinsried. In 2003 he finally took over the Chair of Biochemistry at the University of Würzburg.

A look at the publications

Prof. Fischer's scientific work is remarkable and can be found in renowned specialist journals. His most important publications include:

• "The ribosome Cooperates with the assembly chaperone picln to initiator formation of snrnps" (2016)
• "Reconstitution of the Human U Snrnp Assembly Machinery Reveals Stepwise Sm Protein Organization" (2015)
• "Structural Basic of Assembly Chaperone-Mediated Snrnp Formation" (2013)
• and many other important publications that have made a decisive contribution to researching molecular machines.

The role of Embo is not only the support of talented researchers, but also the promotion of the exchange of scientific information and the creation of optimal research conditions. EMBO members are actively active in various bodies and, among other things, check financing applications, which drives scientific progress considerably.

With the choice in the Embo, Utz Fischer once again proves that he has a good hand when it comes to research. The University of Würzburg can be proud of such an outstanding scientist, whose work is not only recognized in Bavaria, but far beyond national borders. It will be interesting to see what exciting knowledge the team will deliver around Fischer in the future.