Research Groups

Azzalin

Telomeres are nucleoprotein "caps"‚ located at the end of linear eukaryotic chromosomes. Telomeres are essential to safeguard genome stability and set the lifespan of normal cells. The skeleton of mammalian telomeres comprises arrays of 5‚-TTAGGG-3‚ DNA repeats, multiple units of a multi-protein complex known as "shelterin"‚ and TElomeric Repeat containing RNA (TERRA) molecules.
Our long-term goals are:
1) To characterize TERRA biogenesis and regulation at chromosome ends.
2) To uncover putative TERRA-associated functions in maintaining telomere architecture in normal, cancer and senescent cells.
3) To isolate and characterize novel factors involved in TERRA regulation.

Barral

We are studying cell morphogenesis in eukaryotes:
1- How eukaryotic cells organize and coordinate their actin-, septin- and tubulin-based cytoskeletal structures to shape them self in response to internal and external signals;
2- How they detect injuries and cytoskeletal defects and react to them during cell division and cell differentiation.
These studies are carried out in both an unicellular organism (the budding yeast S. cerevisiae), and a multicellular context (the nematode C. elegans).

Gerlich

Our laboratory is interested in the molecular mechanisms of cell division. Specifically, we would like to understand the coordination of chromosome, cytoskeleton, and membrane dynamics during mitosis and cytokinesis, which ensures reliable partitioning of cellular material. To investigate these processes systematically in live human cells, we use automated fluorescence microscopy in combination with high-throughput gene inactivation on RNAi live cell arrays, quantitative image analysis, and mathematical modeling.

Helenius

Our work focuses on the mechanisms by which newly synthesized proteins acquire their native, folded structure in the living mammalian cell.
Our group also studies the cell and molecular biology of interactions that occur between animal viruses and their host cells during the infectious cycle.

Kornmann

Our lab is interested in fundamental questions of cell biology and biochemistry of organelles. We use the powers of yeast genetics as a tool to discover important cellular players and we apply the knowledge gathered in yeast to higher eukaryotes. 

Kutay

Research in our lab is centered around the dynamic organization of the cell nucleus. We are studying nuclear transport pathways and the coordination of these nuclear transport events with the biogenesis of certain substrates, e.g. ribosomal subunits. Moreover, we address the molecular mechanisms underlying nuclear disassembly and re-assembly during cell division in higher eukaryotes.

Kroschewski

The goal of our research activity is to delineate the molecular pathway leading to cellular asymmetry. More precisely we concentrate on pathways leading to the generation of plasma membrane polarity in dog kidney epithelial cells (MDCK). Cdc42 a small GTPase of the Rho subfamily was shown to be responsible for polarity in budding yeast and MDCK cells. We concentrate now on molecules leading to the activation of Cdc42.

Meraldi

During mitosis chromosomes are attached and segregated by the microtubules of the mitotic spindle. Chromosome-microtubule attachment is mediated by kinetochores, multi-protein complexes assembled on centromeric DNA. In our group we study in human cells the function and composition of kinetochores, using high resolution microscopy, live cell imaging, RNA interference (RNAi) mediated depletion as well as biochemical methods.

Panse

In all living cells, the ribosome is responsible for the final step of decoding genetic information into proteins. We exploit the powerful combination of genetic, biochemical and high-throughput cell-biological approaches available in the model organism budding yeast to unravel and investigate at the molecular level “maturation steps” which funnel ribosomal subunits into translation.

Peter

External and internal signals regulate cell morphology, cell cycle progression and gene expression in many organisms. We are using S. cerevisiae and C. elegans as model systems to understand fundamental aspects of signal transduction, cell cycle control and regulation of cell polarity.

Picotti

In the group we will apply targeted proteomic and phosphoproteomic techniques based on SRM to studying the molecular mechanisms associated to onset of neurodegenerative diseases. The SRM approach will be integrated with classical proteomic approaches, biochemical and genetic tools and computational analysis.