Jürgen Engel worked in the Department of Biophysical Chemistry at the Biozentrum from 1972 to 2004.
His particular research interest was the extracellular matrix (ECM), and he investigated the functions, structure, and dynamics of collagens, laminins and other ECM proteins. Prof. Engel was one of the Biozentrum's founding professors and its chairman for two years. He was also dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences. Several times a year he works as a guest scientist at the Shriners Hospital for Children in Portland, Oregon, USA.