Frank Eisenhaber studied mathematics at the Humboldt-University in Berlin and biophysics and medicine at the Pirogov Medical University in Moscow. He was awarded an MD in 1985. Three years later, he received the Ph.D. in molecular biology from the Engelhardt Institute of Molecular Biology in Moscow (supervision by Dr. Vladimir Gayevich Tumanyan). After postdoctoral work at the Institute of Molecular Biology in Berlin-Buch (1989-1991) and at the EMBL in Heidelberg (1991-1999), he worked as team leader of the bioinformatics research group and head of the general IT department at the Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna (1999-2007). He joined the Bioinformatics Institute A*STAR Singapore in August 2007 and he is the Executive Director since August 2013.
Frank Eisenhaber's research interest is focused on the discovery of new biomolecular mechanisms with theoretical and biochemical approaches and the functional characterization of yet uncharacterized genes and pathways. As mechanistic insight is the driver for biotechnology, biomedical and clinical applications, this data analysis work has catalyzed various lines of applied research. Frank Eisenhaber is one of the scientists credited with the discovery of the SET domain methyltransferases, ATGL, kleisins, many new protein domain functions (for example in the GPI lipid anchor biosynthesis pathway) and with the development of accurate prediction tools for posttranslational modifications and subcellular localizations.