Leadership team

Hans Lehrach pioneered the development of cloning techniques, positional cloning and genome scale analysis techniques at Harvard Medical School (USA) and at the EMBL (Germany). He was involved from the beginning in the initial plans to sequence the human genome. At the ICRF (London), he developed innovative technologies and the first array-based robotics for genome wide gene function analyses and large-scale genome mapping, the core method behind the first human genome sequence. Since 1994 he has been director at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (MPIMG, Berlin), carrying out pioneering work in functional genomics, genome sequencing, and cancer systems medicine. He is founder of multiple companies, including Sequana Therapeutics (San Diego), GPC Biotech (Munich-Martinsried) and Atlas Biolabs (Berlin).

George Church is Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and at MIT, Director of PersonalGenomes.org). He is director of an IARPA BRAIN Project and NIH Center for Excellence in Genomic Science. He is co-author of 425 publications, 95 patents, developed methods used for the first genome sequence (1994) and million-fold cost reductions via NGS and nanopore technologies. His innovations have contributed to most, if not all, “next generation” DNA sequencing methods and companies (CGI-BGI, Life Tech, Illumina, Nanopore), and to a wide range of other areas, including new genome editing and iPS cell redifferentiation strategies. He co-initiated the BRAIN Initiative (2011) and Genome Projects (1984, 2005) to provide and interpret the world’s only open-access personal precision medicine datasets). He has also pioneered new privacy, biosafety, ELSI, environmental & biosecurity policies. He is founder of several companies in the fields of medical diagnostics (Knome/PierianDx, Alacris, AbVitro/Juno, Genos, Veritas Genetics ) & synthetic biology / therapeutics (Joule, Gen9, Editas, Egenesis, enEvolv, WarpDrive).

Dr. Marie-Laure Yaspo did her postdoctoral research at the Imperial Cancer research Fund (London, UK). Since 1996 she has been a research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (MPIMG, Berlin). She is currently head of the Otto Warburg Laboratory “Gene Regulation and Systems Biology of Cancer’ at the MPIMG. M-L Yaspo coordinated the International Consortium for mapping and sequencing Human chromosome 21 within the Human Genome Project. She participates in the International Cancer Genome consortium (ICGC early-onset prostate cancer and IGCG pediatric brain tumors) and the European Blueprint project. She coordinated the data analysis within the Innovative Medicines Initiative Oncotrack project. Her team has sequenced and analyzed more than 1,000 tumor and tissue transcriptomes. Dr. Yaspo coordinates Treat20Plus, a translational study carried out together with the Charité Comprehensive Cancer Center in Berlin, aimed at optimizing treatment of patients with metastatic melanoma.

Dr. Bodo Lange carried out postdoctoral research at the University of Manchester, KARC in Kobe Japan and EMBL Heidelberg. He was group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (MPIMG, Berlin) and a lecturer at the Freie Universität, Berlin. He led the BMBF-funded National Genome Research Network Consortium MUTANOM, investigating the effects of cancer driver variants on protein-interaction and signaling networks. He became Chief Executive Officer of Alacris in September 2011. Under his stewardship, Alacris has built a sequencing laboratory for clinical samples as well as developed an IT infrastructure for bioinformatics and modeling. He has published over 30 research articles in the area of signal transduction and cancer biology. Dr. Lange was part of the executive committee of the IMI funded OncoTrack project and is coordinator of the Horizon 2020 project CanPathPro, two pre-clinical projects in the field of predictive modeling of cancer signaling pathways.

Sebastian Meier-Ewert is a seasoned biotech entrepreneur. He has co-founded iOmx and is its Chief Executive Officer. He was Managing Director for MPM Capital from 2012 to 2016. He has founded a number of companies focused on drug discovery, technology development, consulting and investing in the life science industry. He co-founded GPC Biotech in 1997 and as CSO helped build the company into a leading public European biotech company in the field of oncology drug discovery and development. He received his B.Sc. in Biochemistry from University College London and conducted his postgraduate research at the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, London (Ph.D.) and the Max-Planck-Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin.

Peter M. Schlag received a degree in medicine from Düsseldorf University in 1973 and went on to specialize in surgery at the University of Ulm. Following postdoctoral research visits at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, the NIH, and the Washington Cancer Center, he became a Professor at the University of Heidelberg, leading the Surgical Oncology Section. He has been a Professor at the Humboldt and Free Universities in Berlin, has headed the Department for Surgery and Surgical Oncology at the Charité, Berlin and was the Medical Director of the Robert Rössle Cancer Clinic. Until his retirement in 2013, he was the Founding Director of the Charité Comprehensive Cancer Center and a group leader at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine. In recognition of his contribution to medicine, Prof. Schlag was elected to the German Academy of Natural Scientists, Leopoldina, and has received many awards, including the prestigious German Cancer Award.

Michael is an international experienced entrepreneur and finance professional. He focusses on the company finances including reporting, budgeting, accounting, funding, on legal and tax matters and organizational development. He has more than 20 years experience as a CEO, CFO and Finance Manager and a proven track record in M&A, turnaround, growth strategy, outsourcing, MBO and sold his last company successfully to a TEC Dax company in 2014. He has extensive experience in Biotech, IT, Consumer goods and retail industry.