Rate My Professor Dennis Kurzbach

Dennis Kurzbach is an Associate Professor (Assoz. Prof. Dr.) of Biological Chemistry in the Faculty of Chemistry at the University of Vienna. He holds the position of deputy head of the NMR Core Facility and serves as Vice Director of Studies for the Chemistry Directorate of Doctoral Studies. Kurzbach obtained his Dr. rer. nat. degree from the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in 2013. After completing postdoctoral stays and his habilitation in Vienna and Paris, he was appointed associate professor at the University of Vienna in 2019. His academic career focuses on advancing spectroscopic methods for biomolecular studies.

Kurzbach's research centers on hyperpolarized nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), and paramagnetic labeling techniques applied to peptide and protein chemistry, biomineralization, and intrinsically disordered proteins. He leads multiple funded projects, including the ERC Consolidator Grant-funded HypSurf: Hyperpolarized Surface-enhanced Liquid-State Spectroscopy (2026-2031, approximately 2 million euros), which develops dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization (dDNP), Autonomous Interface Devices, and AI-assisted super-resolution NMR for analyzing protein-DNA complexes, biomolecular condensates, and precursor clusters in biomimetic materials. Additional projects under his leadership are THREE: Elucidating the role of Se(III) radicals in catalysis (2026-2030, co-lead), Structure of supramolecular peptide assemblies (2026-2030), The evolution of biomineral prenucleation species: Real-Time (2022-2026), Beschleunigte biomimetische Kernmagnetresonanz (2020-2024), and HYPROTIN: Hyperpolarized NMR for Time-Resolved Monitoring of Interactions of Intrinsically Disordered Breast-Cancer Proteins (2019-2024). With over 90 publications, notable contributions include 'Hyperpolarized NMR Spectroscopy: d-DNP, PHIP, and SABRE Techniques' (Chemistry–An Asian Journal, 2018, 280 citations), 'Cooperative unfolding of compact conformations of the intrinsically disordered protein osteopontin' (Biochemistry, 2013, 137 citations), and 'Application and methodology of dissolution dynamic nuclear polarization in physical, chemical and biological contexts' (Journal of Magnetic Resonance, 2019, 134 citations). He delivers conference presentations on topics such as EPR, dynamic nuclear polarization, hyperpolarized NMR for biomolecular phase transitions, and biomineralization monitoring. In teaching, he covers courses including 'Paramagnetism in Spectroscopy: NMR, EPR and Hyperpolarization', 'Peptide and Protein Chemistry', 'Interpretation of Spectra and of Structural Analysis (UVIS, IR, MS, NMR)', 'Scientific Practice in Molecular Biology II', and seminars for postgraduates in biological chemistry.