Ralf Jungmann is a professor for Experimental Physics at LMU Munich and Max Planck Fellow at the MPI of Biochemistry in Martinsried. Jungmann studied physics at Saarland University and received his PhD in 2010 from the TU Munich. He then became an Alexander von Humboldt postdoctoral fellow at the Wyss Institute at Harvard University before joining LMU and MPIB.

Jungmann and his team are known for the developments and applications of DNA-based fluorescence microscopy, namely DNA-PAINT. DNA-PAINT is a super-resolution microscopy technique that uses short, transient DNA-DNA interactions to provide unrivalled spatial resolution and multiplexing. The method employs complementary DNA strand binding, allowing researchers to visualise cellular structures and molecules with precision previously thought unattainable. DNA-PAINT has unlocked new potentials in diverse scientific realms, from unravelling intricate biological processes at the molecular level to aiding advancements in material science and biomedicine. In two of their latest studies, Jungmann and his team achieved Ångström-resolution fluorescence microscopy and spatial proteomics at single protein resolution in neurons, unravelling the Mode of Action of monoclonal antibodies in cancer in the first study and uncovering a novel type of synapse in the latter.

Jungmann’s contributions have been acknowledged with numerous awards. Furthermore, his work has fostered international collaborations and stimulated a new generation of researchers to think creatively about the applications of nanotechnology in the life sciences.