Management Structure

Dirk Heinz studied Chemistry and Biochemistry in Freiburg before he turned towards Structural Biology during his PhD work at the University of Basel. Following a postdoc period in the US, he returned to Freiburg for his habilitation. In 1998 he became a junior research group leader at the then German Research Centre of Biotechnology (GBF, now HZI) in Braunschweig, where he has headed the Department of Molecular Structural Biology since 2002.

Dirk Heinz is Professor at the Technical University of Braunschweig and has promoted the field of structural biology for more than a decade as member of several national and international committees. Since 2009 he is a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO).

After a one-year period as Acting Scientific Director, Dirk Heinz was appointed as Scientific Director of the HZI on 1^st August 2011.

Ulf Richter studied Business Law in Lüneburg with a focus on financial services, graduating as a Diplom-Wirtschaftsjurist (business law graduate). 

From 2000 to 2003 he was employed at KPMG Consulting AG as Senior Consultant in the field of World Class Finance and Nonprofit Organisations for the conceptual planning of programme-oriented funding within the Helmholtz Association. In this capacity he was responsible for tasks including the consulting of companies, research establishments and non-profit organisations in the areas of accounting and strategic controlling.

In 2003 Ulf Richter was employed at the then German Research Center for Biotechnology (GBF, now HZI). Until 2005 he was in charge of business management controlling, taking over the position of head of human resources in 2006, as an authorised signatory. Between 2005 and 2007 he completed in-service studies in Business and Social Sciences in Osnabrück, focusing on university and science management and graduating as a Master of Business Administration (MBA).

In 2009 he relocated to Berlin, where he took charge of the commercial operations of Deutsche Einheit Fernstraßenplanungs- und –bau GmbH (DEGES GmbH). His responsibilities included the fields of finance, controlling, human resources, organisation and IT.

Ulf Richter has been Administrative Managing Director of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) since April 2010.