Prof. Dr. Leonhard Möckl

  • Professorship for Nano-optical Imaging
  • Associated Group Leader
  • Room A.3.428
  • Phone +49 9131 7133115
  • Email
  • Head of research group Physical Glycosciences

Leonhard Möckl studied Chemistry and Biochemistry at LMU Munich. He obtained his PhD in 2015 with a thesis on the role of the glycocalyx in membrane protein organization. In 2016, he joined the lab of W.E. Moerner at Stanford University, where he used single-molecule techniques to investigate the glycocalyx and furthermore developed deep-learning based approaches for single-molecule studies. In 2020, he joined the MPL as an independent group leader. Since 2024, he holds the professorship for Nano-optical Imaging at FAU, located at the newly established CITABLE.

In his free time, he loves to read, to play the piano, to hike, and to play volleyball.

2018

Von Kautschuk zu Metallen: ein Werkslabor mit Weltgeltung

Leonhard Möckl, Jürgen Evers, Christiane Herzog

Nachrichten aus der Chemie 66 (9) 892-895 (2018) | Journal

Anfang des 20. Jahrhunderts leitete zunächst der Chemiker Salomon Axelrod das chemische Laboratorium im Kabelwerk Oberspree. Sein Hauptforschungsgebiet war Kautschuk. Nach seinem Tod übernahm der Ingenieur Wichard von Moellendorff die Leitung des Labors, und Forschungsschwerpunkt wurden Metalle. Der Name eines seiner Laboranten steht noch heute in Chemiebüchern: Jan Czochralski.

Invasiveness of Cells Leads to Changes in Their Interaction Behavior with the Glycocalyx

Ellen Broda, Adriano A. Torrano, Laura Loebbert, Leonhard Möckl, Christoph Braeuchle, Hanna Engelke

Advanced Biosystems 2 (8) 1800083 (2018) | Journal

Transendothelial migration is a crucial step during metastasis. Before circulating tumor cells enter the endothelium, they face the glycocalyx. While invasive migration of cancer cells is well studied, few investigations exist regarding their interaction with the glycocalyx. Here, the interaction of three breast cell lines with an endothelial glycocalyx is studied. Benign MCF-10A, noninvasive malign MCF-7, and invasive MDA-MB-231 cells penetrate the glycocalyx, just adhere to it or approach without even attaching to it. Remarkable fluctuations in these interaction modes are detected by time-resolved interaction profiles. Adhesion, migration, and invasion characteristics as well as combinations of interaction modes, cell shapes, and cell extensions are studied. The motility and penetration depth into the glycocalyx are analyzed. The invasive cells are the most flexible, penetrating the glycocalyx mostly with a round shape and feet-like membrane extensions. Noninvasive cancer cells penetrate the glycocalyx the deepest over time and benign cells integrate more likely into the endothelial cell layer underneath the glycocalyx.

Die neue Macht des Forschers

Leonhard Möckl

Nachrichten aus der Chemie 66 (2) 103-103 (2018) | Journal

Here you can download Leonhard's CV.

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