My work as a scientist at University of Zurich
"What happens in a protein complex when one of the proteins unbinds? Can we observe the protein dynamics of the unbinding process, even on a nanosecond, microsecond, and millisecond scale?" - fundamental questions to understand protein-protein interaction. And the focus of my work as a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Zurich, in the group of Prof. Peter Hamm.
Having learned a lot about interactions of small alpha-helical proteins during my PhD, I moved to Zurich to study these proteins not only with classic biochemical methods but also with transient infrared spectroscopy.
In one of my current projects, I investigate the molecular dynamics of an oncogenic protein which binds to a short alpha-helical ligand. How is the binding and unbinding of the alpha helix sensed by its partner? We therefore apply infrared spectroscopy which makes it possible to detect molecular vibrations, traversing through the whole molecule.
With these insights, we hope to better understand the complex formation of these cancer-relevant proteins - and to shed light on the binding, unbinding, and the signal propagation in proteins, in general.
My PhD at the Technical University of Munich
Within the scope of my PhD project at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), I worked as a research associate at the Chair of Biopolymer Chemistry (more details). I investigated the practicability of novel approaches in order to systematically characterize protein oligomerization. Besides classical methods such as size exclusion chromatography (SEC) or native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), I used methods that exploit Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) between fluorescently labelled samples and fluorescence anisotropy (more details). In another project, we found an unknown photobleaching effect of the green fluorescent protein (GFP) which fragments the molecule (more details).
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My academic education
I studied Molecular Biotechnology, in a bachelor and a master program, at the Technical University of Munich, During my bachelor studies, I gained essential knowledge in biological, chemical, and physical subjects. For my bachelor's thesis in the field of industrial biotechnology, I was in involved in the purification of a therapeutic full-length antibody via crystallization (more details).
In the master degree courses, I set the focus on protein engineering, microbiology, molecular physiology, and molecular medicine. I did my master’s thesis at the Chair of Molecular Nutricional Medicine. There, I established an inducible heterologous expression system in HEK293 cells to study the uncoupling protein 1 (UCP1).
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My roots
I was born and raised in Ingolstadt, a small Bavarian city at the banks of the Danube. In Ingolstadt, I went to high school with a focus on foreign languages which awoke my passion for them.
Besides this "lingual affinity", I love to play music on my piano. Furthermore, I like to swim and to play golf. I am interested in arts, history, politics, and pop culture: So better never challenge me on trivia quizzes!
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