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The Crick magazine, spring 2026

Principal Group Leader and Assistant Research Director

Crick Lectures are delivered by leading internationally-renowned scientists from the Francis Crick Institute and elsewhere and cover the full spectrum of biomedical research. They aim to be relatively accessible to scientists in all biomedical disciplines, whilst also offering something for the specialist.

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Andreas Schaefer, Crick Principal Group Leader and Assistant Research Director at the Crick, kicks off the autumn season for our weekly Crick Lectures.

Andreas Schaefer obtained a Diploma in physics from the University of Heidelberg as a fellow of the German National Merit foundation, and a PhD in biology from the University of Heidelberg and the Max-Planck Institute for Medical Research under the supervision of Bert Sakmann as a Boeringer Ingelheim Fonds fellow.

For postdoctoral training he joined Troy Margrie's laboratory at UCL (University College London) as a DAAD and EMBO fellow. He established his own lab at UCL as a BBSRC David Phillips fellow and subsequently moved to the Max-Planck Institute for Medical Research as a group leader.

In 2010 he was appointed Professor of Neuroanatomy at the Institute for Anatomy and Cell Biology at the University of Heidelberg and moved to the Medical Research Council National Institute for Medical Research (which is now part of the Francis Crick Institute)/UCL in 2013.

Andreas's research focuses on dissecting the cellular mechanisms of sensory processing in the brain using predominantly the mouse olfactory system as a model system. Techniques employed include electron microscopy, in vivo electrophysiology and imaging, genetic and optogenetic interference as well as behavioural tasks and computational modelling. Additionally, his lab aims to develop technology for electrophysiological recordings and high-throughput behavioural approaches.

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