Axel Ullrich in is a German cancer

Cancer

Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...

 researcher and has been the Director of the Molecular biology

Molecular biology

Molecular biology is the branch of biology that deals with the molecular basis of biological activity. This field overlaps with other areas of biology and chemistry, particularly genetics and biochemistry...

 dept. at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry

Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry

The Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry is a research institute of the Max Planck Society located in Martinsried, a suburb of Munich. The Institute was "founded in 1973 by the merger of three formerly independent institutes: the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, the Max Planck Institute of...

 in Martinsried

Martinsried

Martinsried is a section of Planegg, a municipality neighboring Munich, Germany. Martinsried lies about 15 km southwest of Munich's city center.Martinsried is mostly known as the location of the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry and the...

, Germany since 1988. This deptartment's research has primarily focused on signal transduction

Signal transduction

Signal transduction occurs when an extracellular signaling molecule activates a cell surface receptor. In turn, this receptor alters intracellular molecules creating a response...

. Ullrich and his team received the Wolf Prize in 2010.
Ullrich received his primary degree in biochemistry

Biochemistry

Biochemistry, sometimes called biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes in living organisms, including, but not limited to, living matter. Biochemistry governs all living organisms and living processes...

 at the University of Tübingen, Germany, he received a Ph.D.