Frauke Gräter: “I will miss HITS.”

After fifteen years at HITS, group leader Frauke Gräter will leave the institute at the end of the year. As of 1 January 2025, the chemist, who has received various awards for her research, will be new Director at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz.  In an interview for the newsletter “The Charts”, Gräter remembers her time at HITS. Here is an extract of the article.

How does it feel to leave HITS after having spent almost a third of one’s life there, and to move on to lead a Max Planck Institute? “For me, it’s the right step at the right time,” says Frauke Gräter, “but I’m leaving with a heavy heart.” The biophysicist, and longtime leader of the HITS research group Molecular Biomechanics, will assume her new role as director at the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz as of 1 January 2025.

More than 15 years ago, she first met HITS founder Klaus Tschira during an interview for a group leader position at EML Research, HITS’ predecessor institute. She was surprised — by his curiosity, his warmth, and his love for science. “Klaus Tschira reassured me that one can do research out of pure love for the subject, and that basic research is essential for gaining knowledge.” […] That first conversation in the fireplace room of the Villa Bosch led to many others, as the new group “Molecular Biomechanics” was a key component of HITS, which Klaus Tschira founded on the new campus a few months later. […]

Frauke Gräter’s research goal has been to understand how mechanical forces influence biological processes, especially in proteins. Through studies on the structure of spider silk and blood coagulation, she actively contributed to the institute’s early years, witnessing its growth from 5 to 13 groups and — after the founder’s passing in 2015 — the transition and consolidation into sustainable, resilient structures that both preserve and build upon the founder’s legacy. […]

What will Frauke Gräter take with her to Mainz? “So much of what I’ve experienced at HITS: the openness to unconventional collaborations, the sense of open spaces that foster communication, and the drive to bring science to the public. I will miss HITS!”

The full interview with Frauke Gräter is available in the current HITS newsletter “The Charts”, issue 4/2024: https://www.h-its.org/2024/12/05/issue-4-2024/