Monash University Professor Nicolas H. Völcker will visit the MPIMR after being awarded the Humboldt Research Award

Nicolas H. Völcker, professor of drug delivery disposition and dynamics at the Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, was awarded the Humboldt Research Award. The award, honoring internationally recognized researchers, includes a stay at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg where Völcker will be hosted by Professor Joachim Spatz.

Professor Voelcker, who sits with the Drug Delivery Disposition and Dynamics Theme at Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, is a world-leading materials scientist at the interface of university research and industry. He is a foremost international researcher in bionanotechnology. He has made important contributions to the application of silicon-based nanostructured materials in medical technologies, including diagnostics, therapeutics and regenerative medicine. His key discoveries relate to the use of porous silicon as a nanomaterial for optical and electrochemical biosensing, as a material for targeted drug delivery, and for the precision control of stem cell behavior.

During his stay in Germany, Professor Völcker will harness the power of advanced microscopy tools to explore the silicon nanomaterial interface with cells and tissues. "I would like to thank the Humboldt Foundation for this award and support of my research. For decades the Foundation has backed scientists and scholars from around the world, playing a vital role in helping to foster research, collaboration, global networking and much more", says Professor Völcker. He is currently the Scientific Director of the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication, Professor at the Monash Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Science Leader at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO).

He will be hosted by Professor Joachim Spatz at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg.

The Humboldt Research Award

Every year, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation grants up to 100 Humboldt Research Awards to internationally leading researchers of all disciplines from abroad in recognition of their academic record to date. The award amount is €60,000. Award winners are also invited to conduct a research project of their choice at a research institution in Germany in cooperation with specialist colleagues there. The award enables a total stay of between six months and a full year, which can be split into multiple stays.