Benjamin Engel researches the structural connections between macromolecules and cellular organelles. He investigates how macromolecules control molecular functions and how macromolecules shape and model organelles. In order to pursue these questions, Dr. Engel's group used cryo-electron tomography to directly visualize molecular complexes within the cellular environment "in situ". They study numerous aspects of cell biology, but are increasingly focusing on photosynthesis. They explore how cell architecture regulates light harvesting and carbon fixation, and show how these processes are influenced by changing environmental conditions. Benjamin Engel (born 1981) studied molecular and cell biology at the University of California, Berkeley. He received his doctorate from the University of California, San Francisco, with Prof. Wallace Marshall and used genetic engineering and light microscopy to study array length control. For his postdoctoral research, he moved to Munich to develop cryo-electronography with Prof. Wolfgang Baumeister at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry. In 2019 he joined the Helmholtz Pioneer Campus of the HelmholtzZentrum Munich as Principal Investigator.