In the future, he will take on new challenges at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST).
The FMP has been led collegially for many years - together with Prof. Dr. Dorothea Fiedler, Volker Haucke has strategically developed the institute and continuously expanded its international visibility. This dual-leadership model allows both directors to advance their research alongside their leadership responsibilities. Dorothea Fiedler will assume executive leadership effective January 1, 2027.
“For more than a decade, the FMP has been my academic home. This is where curiosity, collaboration, and excellence come together,” says Volker Haucke. “I am convinced that the FMP is a magnificent institute with a promising future. All the staff here have collectively made the FMP an extraordinary place for science.”
“With his vision and enthusiasm, Volker Haucke has made the FMP what it is today. I deeply regret his departure", says Dorothea Fiedler. “At the same time, I am convinced that the institute will build on its past successes and continue to develop dynamically.”
Shaping the FMP’s Scientific Profile and International Standing
Volker Haucke’s tenure was marked by scientific work that has significantly sharpened the FMP’s research profile. The focus was on the mechanisms of endocytosis, the organization of endosomal membranes, and the role of lipid signals in human cells, particularly in nerve cells. Of particular note are his groundbreaking studies on synaptic vesicle biogenesis and the role of signaling lipids—known as phosphoinositides—which act as molecular switches and thus regulate numerous processes, ranging from the transmission of hormonal and neurotransmitter signals to processes of intracellular membrane dynamics, and even the formation and function of organs and tissues. Mutations in enzymes that metabolize these signaling lipids are involved in numerous human diseases, ranging from inherited muscle disorders to diabetes and cancer.
In addition, Volker Haucke has driven the development of new molecular tools and drug candidates, particularly with regard to enzymes involved in lipid metabolism. Time and again, his research has demonstrated how basic research can have a societal impact — for example, by identifying new avenues for treating neurodegenerative diseases and cancer.
His scientific work has received numerous national and international awards. In the spring of 2025, Volker Haucke received the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize from the German Research Foundation (DFG), Germany’s most prestigious research award, which comes with a prize of 2.5 million euros. He was honored for his groundbreaking discoveries in lipid signaling and synaptic signal transmission. Throughout his career, Haucke has been honored with numerous other awards and grants, including two Reinhart Koselleck Grants from the DFG, an ERC Advanced Grant, the Feldberg Prize, and the Ernst Schering Prize.
Research Career
Volker Haucke studied biochemistry at Freie Universität Berlin and earned his Ph.D. at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel. After a postdoctoral fellowship at the Yale University School of Medicine (USA), he led an independent research group at the University of Göttingen. In 2003, he was appointed professor of membrane biochemistry at the Freie Universität Berlin (FU Berlin); since 2012, he has served as director of the Leibniz-FMP, where he is responsible for the research division of Molecular Pharmacology and Cell Biology. Haucke is a member of numerous renowned scientific organizations and committees. These include the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO, since 2014), the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (since 2017), the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina (since 2017), the Academia Europaea (since 2019), and the Charité’s NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence (since 2007). From 2023 to 2025, he also served as president of the German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM).
