Hartmut Wekerle is Professor and Director at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Munich. He has served as Chairman (Dean) of the Biological-Medical Section of the Max Planck Society (1999-2002). Since his postdoctoral training at the Weizmann Institute, Wekerle's interest is focused on the cellular basis of immunological self-tolerance and autoimmunity. Specifically he has been studying the pathogenesis of autoimmune nervous diseases, especially Multiple Sclerosis, over the past 20 years. He serves on advisory boards of several national and international research institutions, including MS societies, and is member of the editorial boards of numerous international journals. His scientific prizes and awards include: Jung Prize for Science and Research (1982), Duchenne Prize (1984), Zülch-Prize (1999) Charcot Award (International Federation of MS Societies, 2001), Louis D Prize (Grand Prix des Academies des Sciences, Paris, 2002), Betty and David Koetser Award 2005. He is Honorary Professor, University of Munich (1993), member of LEOPOLDINA (German Academy of Natural Scientists, 2002), and president of the International Society of Neuroimmunology.