Departmental Research Groups

Group leader: Vikram Alva

Many proteins share detectable similarities in sequence and structure. Sequence-based comparison of modern proteins shows that they fall into only about ten thousand domain families [more]

Group Leader: Yu-Chu Chang

We investigate the biophysical and biochemical properties of membrane proteins, focusing on their folding, stability, and function. We use a variety of techniques, including novel methods to study membrane protein stability and biochemical assays to characterize the function of bacterial proteins involved in virulence. [more]

Group leader: Murray Coles

Our group concentrates on protein structure determination, with a special focus on proteins involved in transmembrane signaling. [more]

Group leader: Stanisław Dunin-Horkawicz

We focus on the development and application of bioinformatics tools to study the function of protein-based systems from an evolutionary perspective. This approach allows us to describe present-day systems in the context of the evolutionary events that shaped them, to define their unique and conserved features, and to propose testable hypotheses. [more]

Group leader: Marcus Hartmann

Our mission is to understand and manipulate macromolecular machines and systems.  [more]

Group leader: Birte Hernandez Alvarez

We study structure-function relationships in proteins from an evolutionary perspective. [more]

Group leader: Jörg Martin

Using a variety of biochemistry, biophysics and microbiology techniques, we focus on prokaryotic model systems to better understand these intricate processes. [more]

Group Leader: Oliver Weichenrieder

‘Selfish’ RNA likely is at the origin of all life on earth and it persists today in the form of retrotransposons and RNA-based viruses. We study human LINE-1 and Alu RNAs and how these ‘molecular parasites’ copy their sequences into genomic DNA. We determine and interpret molecular structures combined with insight from biochemical approaches and cell-based assays. [more]