Dying to survive - Apoptosis, necroptosis, autophagy as the supreme experiments of nature

Abstract

Guido Kroemer has made fundamental contributions to medical research through his pioneering work in the fields of cell death and cancer research. He is best known for the discovery that the permeabilization of mitochondrial membranes constitutes a decisive step in programmed cell death. Kroemer has explored the fine mechanisms of mitochondrial cell death control, the molecular pathways that explain the inhibition of cell death in cancer cells, upstream of or at the level of mitochondria, and the mechanisms that make cancer cell death immunogenic. Moreover, he discovered the AIF protein and clarified its biological role in apoptosis. His important contributions have been recognized with numerous awards. Kroemer currently serves on more than forty Editorial Boards and member of European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), German Academy of Sciences, Austrian Academy of Sciences, European Academy of Sciences (EAS), European Academy of Sciences and Arts (EASA), and European Academy of Cancer Sciences (EACS). He is the President of the European Cell Death Organization (ECDO) and the Founding Director of the European Research Institute for Integrated Cellular Pathology (ERI-ICP). Kroemer is the most cited scientist worldwide in the field of cell death as well as in the area of mitochondrial research.