Former directors and group leaders

High quality research has a long tradition at Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence. Complying with the Max Planck concept of promoting excellency, this research is consolidated in departments and Independent Research Groups. The list below details the leaders, dates and names of former groups and departments of the institute and its predecessor institutes:

  • the MPI for biological Intelligence in Martinsried and Seewiesen (MPI-BI), since 2022
  • the MPI for Ornithology (MPIO), 1999 to 2021, Seewiesen location (until 2019 including Radolfzell location)
  • the MPI of Neurobiology (MPIN) in Martinsried, 1984 to 2021
  • the MPI for Behavioral Physiology in Seewiesen (MPIV), 1954 to 1999 (directors only)

Former Directors (MPIN, MPIO, MPIV)

Jürgen Aschoff † (1958 - 1981), MPIV

Yves-Alain Barde (1991 - 2000) Department Neurobiochemistry, MPIN

Peter Berthold (1998 - 2004) Department Bird Migration, MPIO

Iain Couzin (2014 - 2019) Department Collective Behaviour, MPIO - now director at the MPI of Animal Behaviour, Radolfzell/Konstanz

Eberhard Gwinner (1991 - 2004) Department for Biological Rhythms and Behaviour, MPIO

Albert Herz † (1972 - 1989) Department Neuropharmacology, MPIN

Erich von Holst † (1954 - 1962), MPIV

Franz Huber (1973 - 1993), MPIV

Gustav Kramer † (1958 - 1959), MPIV

Georg W. Kreutzberg † (1978 - 2000) Department Neuromorphology, MPIN

Konrad Lorenz † (1954 - 1973), MPIV - Nobelpreis für Physiologie oder Medizin 1973

Hans Dieter Lux † (1972 - 1992) Department Neurophysiology, MPIN

Horst Mittelstaedt † (1960 - 1991), MPIV

Dietrich Schneider † (1964 - 1985), MPIV

Hans Thoenen † (1977 - 1996) Department Neurochemistry, MPIN

Hartmut Wekerle (1988 - 2012) Department Neuroimmunology, MPIN

Wolfgang Wickler † (1973 - 1999), MPIV

Martin Wikelski (2007 - 2019), Department of Migration MPIO - now director at the MPI of Animal Behaviour, Radolfzell/Konstanz

 

Former Research Group Leaders (MPIN, MPIO)

Amparo Acker-Palmer (2001 - 2008) Signal Transduction, MPIN
Professor at Universität Frankfurt

Yves-Alain Barde (1989 - 1991) Neurotrophins and Receptors, MPIN
Professor at Cardiff University

Tobias Bonhoeffer (1994 - 1997) Neurophysiology, MPIN
Director at the MPI for Neurobiology, now MPI for Biological Intelligence

Frank Bradke (2003 - 2011) Axonal Growth and Regeneration, MPIN
Professor at Deutsche Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen DZNE

Barbara Conradt (1999 - 2003) Cell Death Regulation, MPIN
Professor at Universität München (LMU)

Louis J. de Gennaro (1982 - 1987) Neuronal Gene Expression, MPIN

Niels Jeroen Dingemanse (2009 - 2012) Evolutionary Ecology of Variation, MPIO
Professor at Universität München (LMU)

Irina Dudanova (2019 - 2022) Molecular Neurodegeneration, MPIN
Professor at Universität zu Köln

Joerg Epplen (1989 - 1991) Molecular Immunology, MPIN

Wolfgang Forstmeier (2004 - 2009) Individual Differences in Sexual Behavior: Proximate Mechanisms and Adaptive Value, MPIO
Scientist at the MPI for Ornithology, now MPI for Biological Intelligence

Thomas Frank (2019-2023), Olfactory Memory, MPI-BI
Group leader at the MBExC Cluster of Excellence, University of Göttingen

Manfred Gahr (1993 - 1998), MPIO
Director at the MPI for Ornithology, now MPI for Biological Intelligence

Magdalena Götz (1997 - 2003) Neuronal Specificity, MPIN
Professor at Universität München (LMU)

Nadine Gogolla (2014 - 2021) Circuits for Emotion, MPIN
Director at MPI of Psychiatry

Tim Gollisch (2007 - 2011) Visual Coding, MPIN
Professor at Universität Göttingen

Rosemarie Grantyn (1990 - 1995) Developmental Neurobiology, MPIN
Professor at Charité Berlin

Benedikt Grothe (1999 - 2003) Auditorischy Physiology, MPIN
Professor at Universität München (LMU)

Ilona Grunwald Kadow (2008 - 2016) Chemosensory Coding, MPIN
Professor at Technische Universität München

Uwe Heinemann † (1981 - 1986) Calcium and Neuronal Plasticity, MPIN
Director at Institute for Neurophysiology, Charité 

Moritz Helmstaedter (2011 - 2014) Structure of Neocortical Circuits, MPIN
Director at MPI for Brain Research

Werner Hoffmann (1987 - 1994) Molecular Genetics, MPIN

Wieland B. Huttner (1981 - 1985) Molecular Regulatory Mechanismen, MPIN
Director at MPI for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics

Gerhard Isenberg (1981 - 1986) Cell Motility, MPIN

Reinhard Jahn (1986 - 1991) Structure and Function of Synaptic Vessicles, MPIN
Director at the MPI for Biophysical Chemistry, now MPI for Multidisiplinary Sciences

Bart Kempenaers (1999 - 2003), MPIO
Director at the MPI for Ornithology, now MPI for Biological Intelligence

Emilie Macé (2019-2023) Brain-Wide Circuits for Behavior, MPI-BI
Professor at University Medical Center Göttingen

Anne Peters (2004 - 2010) Behavioral Ecology of Sexual Signals, MPIO
Professor at Monash University

Simone Pika (2010 - 2017) Evolution of Communication, MPIO
Professor at Universität Osnabrück

Ruben Portugues (2014 - 2020) Sensorimotor Control, MPIN
Professor at Technische Universität München

Petra Quillfeldt (2006 - 2011) Behavioral Ecology of Seabirds, MPIO
Professor at Universität Giessen

Werner Risau † (1988 - 1992) Cell Biology of Brain Vessels, MPIN

Julia Schroeder (2012 - 2015) Evolutionary Biology, MPIO
Professor at Imperial College London

Björn Siemers † (2006 - 2012) Sensory Ecology, MPIO

Stefan Stamm (1995 - 2001) Neuro-specific Splicing, MPIN
Professor at University of Kentucky

Valentin Stein (2004 - 2011) Synaptic Receptor Trafficking, MPIN
Professor at Universität Bonn

Takashi Suzuki (2004 - 2012) Axon Guidance and Neuronal Connectivity, MPIN
Associate Professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology

Hiromu Tanimoto (2008 - 2014) Behavioral Genetics, MPIN
Professor at Tohuku University

Gaia Tavosanis (2003 - 2011) Dendrite Differentiation, MPIN
Professor at Deutsche Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen DZNE

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