Department of Functional Genetics

Prof. Dr. Rui Benedito

Professor Dr. Rui Benedito is a new director at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine. He took up the post of director in a part-time capacity on June 1, 2025, and will assume it full-time in September 2025.

Understanding and correcting the effects of genetic mutations that cause disease

The Department of Prof. Dr. Rui Benedito develops innovative genetic technologies of broad relevance to biomedical research and is currently using them to understand and modulate cardiovascular biology and related disease processes.

Genetic mutations are changes in the DNA sequence that can disrupt normal biological functions and lead to various diseases. Some of these mutations are inherited, while others occur sporadically during embryonic development or later in life. Recent advances in genetic sequencing technologies have greatly accelerated the discovery of disease-causing mutations. However, identifying these mutations is only the first step; it must be followed by a careful assessment of how they alter cellular biology and contribute to disease.

Our research aims to model and understand, at very high resolution, how genetic mutations change the biology of individual mutant cells. We are developing new genetic technologies of broad relevance that allow us to induce these mutations in an effective, reliable, and trackable manner, thereby greatly facilitating the study of gene function in any single cell of a living organism.

By investigating how specific mutations alter gene function and the biology of individual cells, we can unravel the mechanisms behind a wide range of diseases—from inherited or acquired genetic conditions causing cardiovascular disease to cancer.