Dr. Erwin Neher

Nobel Prize in Medicine 1991

Dr. Erwin Neher, a German physician and biologist, was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1991 for his discoveries in the field of psychobiology and cellular electrophysiology. His research has led to a fundamental breakthrough in understanding the mechanisms that regulate cellular activity through ion channels in membranes.

Education and Career

Neher studied biochemistry at the universities of Munich and Wisconsin, in the United States. He earned his PhD in 1970 and worked at prestigious institutions such as the Max Planck Institute, the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), and the universities of Wisconsin, Yale, and Göttingen.

Throughout his career, he focused on developing a high-resolution electrophysiological measurement method, enabling the analysis of the activation of a single ion channel in the cell membrane. Thanks to this advancement, he was able to understand how ion flows regulate nerve conduction, synaptic plasticity, and essential cellular processes such as hormone and milk secretion in mammary glands.

Scientific and Medical Impact

One of his most significant discoveries was the role of calcium as an intracellular messenger, which is key to the activation and regulation of multiple biological processes. His work has been instrumental in the development of new drugs, contributing to both clinical medicine and biomedical research.

The technique developed by Neher allowed, for the first time, the isolated study of ion channels, revolutionizing knowledge about cellular signaling in neurons, muscles, and endocrine cells. These advances have improved the understanding of intercellular communication and have driven innovation in the treatment of various neurological and endocrine diseases.