Michael Laemmerhofer

Meet Michael Laemmerhofer

Most important lesson Research demands hard work, persistence, and stern discipline to pave the way for success. In this endeavor, ambition to make small achievements represents a useful motor.

Encounters with serendipity In biomarker analysis, serendipity happens all the time; molecules that you weren’t looking for often pop up. The hope is always that they are real biomarkers, not just artifacts – and they can be validated as such.

Funniest/most unexpected moment The most unexpected and intriguing finding in my scientific career was the discovery of plasmid DNA topoisomer selectivity of quinine carbamates in our group. It still surprises me how a small molecular ligand can distinguish macromolecular pDNA. The exceptional selectivity of molecular recognition surprises me again and again – it really is the key to life.

Eye on the horizon I will focus more on bioanalytical applications. And functionalized separation materials will continue to be a major topic of interest.