Franz Meitinger

Franz Meitinger studied biology at the University of Regensburg and pursued a Ph.D. in cell biology at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg. During his doctoral work, he investigated the connection between cell division, polarity, and aging. He conducted his postdoc at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in San Diego, where he discovered novel mechanisms of mitotic quality control and centrosome assembly using genome-wide CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing screens. Since 2022, he has been running his research group at the Okinawa Institute for Science and Technology. His research interests are centered on the interface between cell and cancer biology with a focus on mechanisms that control cell proliferation and maintain genome stability. In addition, he is interested in how genetic changes in cancer alter cell division, promote cell proliferation, and enable cells to escape protective mechanisms of stress signaling with the goal to create cancer-specific diagnostic and therapeutic opportunities.