Professor Michael Hoch
Professor Michael Hoch will be awarded a Doctor of Science (DSc) on Friday 3 July 2026 during the afternoon ceremony.
Professor Michael Hoch is a distinguished molecular biologist and academic leader who has played a central role in advancing research excellence and international collaboration in higher education.
Professor Hoch has served as Rector of the University of Bonn since 2015 and is currently in his third term of office. He is Chair of the German U15 University Alliance and President of the German Academic Scholarship Foundation.
After studying biology in Heidelberg and Paris, he completed his doctorate at LMU Munich, followed by a habilitation in molecular developmental genetics at TU Braunschweig. Research at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen preceded his appointment as Professor of Molecular Developmental Biology at the University of Bonn in 1999, where his work has focused on lipid metabolism and the interaction between insulin signalling and innate immunity using the Drosophila model system.
A leading contributor to major initiatives funded by the German Research Foundation, he has acted as spokesperson for a Collaborative Research Centre and served on the steering committee of the ImmunoSensation Cluster of Excellence.
As Rector, he has led the University of Bonn to significant success in Germany’s Excellence Strategy, achieving designation as a University of Excellence in 2019 and again in 2025, with eight Clusters of Excellence.
Recognition has included University Manager of the Year in 2019 and Rector of the Year in 2020, 2021 and 2023. An honorary doctorate was awarded by Waseda University in 2017, followed in 2024 by the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold, and Silver Rays, in recognition of contributions to academic exchange between Japan and Germany.