Since 2017, Prof. Schapiro has been a valued member of the SFB 1078, first serving as a Mercator Fellow, and since 2021, as Principal Investigator of Project C6: Protonation-Dependent Photochemistry in Rhodopsin and Phytochrome Photoreceptors. His project aims to uncover how light excitation impacts protonation dynamics in retinal proteins and phytochromes—both of which employ double-bond photoisomerization as an activation mechanism leading to altered molecular interactions and proton transfer. To achieve this, Prof. Schapiro and his team utilize hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) methods to simulate both static spectra and dynamic behaviors.

After completing his PhD at the University of Duisburg-Essen, he held postdoctoral positions at the Center for Photochemical Sciences at Bowling Green State University (Ohio), the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion (Mülheim), and the Institute of Materials Physics and Chemistry (Strasbourg). His research career then took him to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he served as a faculty member at the Institute of Chemistry.

Prof. Schapiro's research in his new roles focuses on light-induced chemical reactions in chromophore-protein complexes and solvated molecules. In addition to exploring the mechanisms of these reactions, he is dedicated to developing new computational tools for photochemical and photobiological systems. His expertise will undoubtedly contribute to groundbreaking advancements in sustainable chemistry and molecular biology.

Follow him on his group website at TU Dortmund.

We warmly wish him every success in his new endeavors!