Markus Ganter
Markus Ganter is a group leader at the Center for Integrative Infectious Disease research (CIID) which is affiliated with Heidelberg University Hospital. He completed his PhD at Heidelberg University before conducting postdoctoral research at the MPI for Infection Biology in Berlin and Harvard School of Public Health. There, he was a part of a team which identified the key enzyme which affects the replication of the malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum. As epidemiological reports record more than 500 000 deaths due to malaria annually, efforts at elucidating the molecular mechanisms behind the parasite’s replication in the bloodstream are still ongoing. After founding his own group after returning to Heidelberg in 2016, Markus has entered his work around the unique replication process of schizogony in Plasmodium, where nuclei replicate asynchronously, leading to an irregular number of daughter cells. By employing forward genetic screens, classical reverse genetic tools, and live-cell microscopy, he has identified a Plasmodium-specific kinase, CRK4, as a key regulator of parasite proliferation and transmission. His ongoing investigations seek to define the interactome of CRK4 and uncover the genes and signalling pathways that drive Plasmodium replication. In addition to his research, Markus was recently awarded the prize for excellent teaching at the faculty of medicine (PaLMe) by the Heidelberg medical student council.
