Wieland B. Huttner, MD, is a Founding Director of the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics and Honorary Professor at the Technische Universität Dresden, Germany. He has been Chair of Neurobiology of Heidelberg University, Research Group Leader at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, and has published key contributions on the cell biology of brain development and its evolutionary implications.