Laboratory of Molecular Genetics of Development

"We strive to understand the dynamic process of vesicular trafficking by studying the intricate molecular interactions at the endosomal surface."

Offer

We are looking for meaningful partnerships with academic and private institutions. The quickest way to discuss a partnership with us is to contact us and ask. We prefer meaningful discovery-driven collaborations with responsible and reliable partners.

We have considerable expertise in the following:

- Characterisations of intracellular trafficking pathways of your protein or drug of interest – following the cargo inside cells using various microscopic approaches

- Genetic studies in C. elegans – using our library of siRNA, we are able to study the effects of gene silencing on physiological processes in C. elegans

Know-how & Technologies

The two models used in our laboratory are human cell lines and the “worm” – Caenorhabditis elegans. The findings in one of the models can be quickly verified in the other – human cell lines provide clinical relevance while the worm is an excellent and easy-to-grow animal model to study the influence of various pathways on organ development.

Our experimental work combines two principal approaches: the fluorescent microscopic observation of cells and proteomic work. Microscopy, including advanced live imaging and super-resolution techniques, is used to understand the localisation of proteins of interest and their transport across cells. We are able to pinpoint proteins to precise vesicular subcompartments inside cells. Our biochemical methodology involves the studies of protein-protein interactions including mass spectrometry.

Key Research Equipment

As part of the Department of Cell Biology, we have easy access to a wide array of laboratory equipment. This includes the Laboratory of Confocal and Fluorescent Microscopy, where we regularly operate the Olympus Scan^R wide-fi eld microscope,

Zeiss LSM 880 confocal microscope and Zeiss Elyra SP.1 superresolution microscope. We also regularly make use of the laboratory of cytometry and laboratory of mass spectrometry, the latter of which has an Orbitrap system for the analysis of complex samples. Other equipment at our disposal includes a sequencing lab, cell culture and C. elegans cultivation rooms as well as an ultracentrifuge, Varioskan fluorometer, LAS camera system for the detection of chemiluminescence and other biochemical equipment.