Since 1996, Hentze has held positions in EMBL's scientific administration, initially as Dean of the EMBL International PhD Programme[6] and in the establishment and expansion of EMBL's internal and external training programs. He played a key role in the construction and establishment of the Advanced Training Centre (ATC) in Heidelberg.[7] He is also responsible for developing EMBL's fundraising programs as well as the alumni program, and established EMBL's first Bioethics Committee, which he chaired from 2004 to 2020.[1]
Together with Andreas Kulozik of the Medical Faculty of Heidelberg University, Hentze co-founded the Molecular Medicine Partnership Unit (MMPU) in 2002[8][9] and served as its co-director until May 2025.[1]
In 2005, Hentze became Associate Director of the EMBL and Professor for Molecular Medicine at the University of Heidelberg.[1] In 2013, Hentze was appointed Director of EMBL.[3]
Hentze founded the Environmental Research Initiative (ERI) in 2020.[10] ERI connects private donors with the scientific potential of researchers at EMBL.[citation needed]
Hentze serves or served on the editorial boards of Molecular Cell, RNA,[11]EMBO Molecular Medicine,[12]Trends in Biochemical Sciences,[13]Journal of Molecular Medicine,[14]BMC Molecular Biology,[15] and Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: RNA.[16]
Hentze is or was a member of the Scientific Advisory Board and Board of Trustees of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine[17] (Berlin, Germany), the scientific advisory board of the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH/BIG),[18] the Istituto Nazionale Genetica Molecolare (INGM), Milan, Italy,[19] the Centenary Institute, Sydney, Australia,[20] the KAUST Smart Health Initiative, the International Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB) "RNA for Therapy", CEITEC, Brno, Czech Republic[21], and the Cold Spring Harbor Conferences Asia.[22] Furthermore, Hentze is the scientific co-founder of Anadys Pharmaceuticals, San Diego, USA.[23]
Research
Hentze's research focuses on RNA biology and RNA-binding proteins. In 1987, Hentze and his colleagues discovered iron-responsive elements as first example of an RNA element regulating the translation of mammalian mRNA into proteins.[24] Hentze's research group has paved the way for understanding translational control (RNA-binding proteins, microRNAs) whose significance for developmental biology, brain function, carcinogenesis and other diseases has in the meantime become widely recognized.[25] Moreover, he has made key discoveries in the area of iron metabolism and disease.[26]
In 2010, Hentze proposed the concept of REM Networks, a new interconnection between metabolism and gene expression on the basis of RNA-binding proteins.[27] The research project was awarded the ERC Advanced Investigator Grant by the European Research Council in 2011.[28] Work following this hypothesis led to the development of the "RNA Interactome Capture" technique and to the discovery of hundreds of formerly unknown RNA-binding proteins in the cells of living organisms from human to yeast, including more than 100 metabolic enzymes.[29][30][31] Hentze and his colleagues also discovered new RNA-binding motives of proteins which they unraveled using the newly developed method called "RBDmap".[32]
In 2019, they described the concept of riboregulation. They found out that the autophagy receptor protein p62 is directly regulated by a small RNA, vtRNA1-1, and that the small RNA directly interferes with protein-protein interactions between p62 monomers.[33] They reported a new form of riboregulation in 2022: RNA binds to the catalytic center of the human enzyme enolase-1 and inhibits its glycolytic activity.[34] Currently, their research focuses on how widely biological processes are riboregulated, and how riboregulation determines cell metabolism, differentiation and malignant processes.
↑ Hentze, M.; Hasilik, A.; Figura, Kurt v. (1984). "Enhanced degradation of Cathepsin D synthesized in the presence of the threonine analog beta-hydroxynorvaline". Arch. Biochem. Biophys. 230 (1): 375–82. doi:10.1016/0003-9861(84)90120-6. PMID6424571. Retrieved 6 August 2015.
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