PD Dr. rer. nat. Frank Essmann

Frank Essmann, born in 1971, studied chemistry at the University of Dortmund and prepared his diploma thesis at the Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Physiology. He moved to Berlin to prepare his PhD thesis jointly at the Charité and the Max Delbrück Centrum investigating mechanisms of apoptosis. In 2002 Frank became a junior group leader at the Institute for Molecular Medicine, HHU Düsseldorf, focusing on apoptosis regulation by BCL-2 proteins. In 2008 Frank habilitated in Molecular Medicine and became group leader at the Interfaculty Institute for Biochemistry of the University of Tübingen. In 2018 Frank moved to the Dr. Margarete Fischer-Bosch Institute of Clinical Pharmacology (IKP) and since 2021 he establishes his research group “Apoptosis Regulation and Targeted Therapy” at Robert Bosch Center for Tumor Diseases. The group investigates cell death and resistance mechanisms in the context of (targeted) anti-cancer drugs. At the Bosch Health Campus Frank serves as an expert in molecular biology, advanced fluorescence microscopy and flow cytometry. Frank's publications significantly contributed to the understanding of apoptosis regulation especially by BCL-2 family proteins.