Professor Helmut Kettenmann is a member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and a member of the Academia Europaea (Academy of Europe). He is a tenured professor at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin. He previously served as President of the German Neuroscience Society and President of the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS). He is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of the journal Glia. He is a Chair Professor under the Changjiang Scholars Program of China’s National High-End Talent Program, a recipient of the CAS International Talent Program – Special Foreign Experts, and a Distinguished Talent of Shenzhen High-Level Professional Talents.
Professor Helmut Kettenmann received his Master's degree in Biology (joint training with the University of Miami) in 1980 and his Ph.D. in Biology in 1982, both from Heidelberg University. He obtained his Habilitation in 1987.
In 2021, Professor Helmut Kettenmann officially joined Shenzhen University of Technology as Chair Professor and Head of the Department of Neurobiology. He also serves as a researcher at the Institute of Brain Cognition and Brain Disease, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Physiological and Pathological Functions of Glial Cells

1.Kuhrt LD, Motta E, Elmadany N, Weidling H, Fritsche-Guenther R, Efe IE, Cobb O, Chatterjee J, Boggs LG, Schnauß M, Diecke S, Semtner M, Anastasaki C, Gutmann DH, Kettenmann H. (2023) Neurofibromin 1 mutations impair the function of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived microglia. Dis Model Mech. 16:dmm049861.

2.Kompier N, Semtner M, Walter S, Kakabadze N, Steinhäuser C, Nolte C, Kettenmann H (2024) Membrane properties and coupling of macroglia in the optic nerve. Curr Res Neurobiol. 7:100137.

3.Kettenmann H (2024) A Novel Astrocyte-Neuron Interaction to Control Complex Animal Behavior. Neurosci Bull. doi: 10.1007/s12264-024-01328-6

4.Ugursu B, Sah A, Sartori S, Popp O, Mertins P, Dunay IR, Kettenmann H, Singewald N, Wolf SA. (2024) Microglial sex differences in innate high anxiety and modulatory effects of minocycline. Brain Behav Immun. 2024 Jul;119:465-481

5.Yalcin F, Haneke H, Efe IE, Kuhrt LD, Motta E, Nickl B, Flüh C, Synowitz M, Dzaye O, Bader M, Kettenmann H. (2024) Tumor associated microglia/macrophages utilize GPNMB to promote tumor growth and alter immune cell infiltration in glioma. Acta Neuropathol Commun.;12:50.

The Kettenmann lab has been studying the functions of all the three major types of glial cells in the brain, the astrocytes, oligodendrocytes and microglial cells. One goal is to analyze how astrocytes and oligodendrocytes are connected via gap junctions to form a panglial network and how this network influences neuronal function in the white and in the grey matter. A major focus of the lab is on the role of microglial cells in the normal and in the pathologic brain. The Kettenmann team found that microglial cells can express classical neurotransmitter receptors formerly considered to be a hallmark of neurons. Activation of these receptors influences microglial functions. Within the context of pathology they are currently studying the importance of microglial cells in stroke, Alzheimer’s disease and psychiatric diseases. Another line of research addresses the question how microglia interact with glioma cells. They aim to understand this interaction on a molecular level with the goal to identify therapeutic targets.