Gerd Folkers

Collegium Helveticum, Zurich, Switzerland

He has been Full Professor of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at ETH Zurich since 1994 and Associate Professor since 1991. He took the Chair of the Collegium Helveticum on the first of October 2004.

Born in Andernach/Rhein (Germany) in 1953, Folkers studied Pharmacy at the University of Bonn where he earned his doctorate subsequently. With his doctoral advisor he relocated to the University of Tübingen in 1983 and completed his habilitation there in 1989. During a stay with H.-D. Höltje in Berne in 1984/85, he studied new research methods in computer-aided molecular design. He expanded his knowledge during other stays abroad, especially at the Birkbeck College in London and at the Texas A&M University in College Station.

His research focus lies on the molecular interaction between drugs and its binding sites in vivo. Folkers is particularly interested in the strong integration of computer-aided modelling and relevant biochemical/biophysical experiments. Besides the research on molecular mechanism of «conventional» nucleoside therapeutics against virus infection and cancer, his special interest has shifted to immuno therapeutics.

He is editor of the journals «QSAR» and «Pharmaceutica Acta Helvetiae», author and editor of diverse scientific books, Vice President of the «Schweizerische Gesellschaft der Pharmazeutischen Wissenschaften», member of the executive board of the «Schweizerische Akademie der Technischen Wissenschaften» as well as a member of the board of many international scientific societies.