Since 1993, he is a Professor of Pharmacology at the University of Würzburg, Germany, retired in 2022, and he was the Founding Chairman of the Rudolf Virchow Center (2001–2016).
While working with Robert Lefkowitz at Duke University he discovered beta-arrestins, proteins that regulate the function of certain cell surface receptors.
[4] The observation that increased β1-adrenergic receptor levels and signaling cause long-term cardiac damage contributed to the use of beta-blockers in heart failure patients.
[7] Lohse pioneered the use of optical techniques to determine, where and how fast receptors become activated by hormones and neurotransmitters.
[13][14] From 2019 to 2022 he served as President of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Physicians and organized its 200-year anniversary meeting in Leipzig in 2022.