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Associated research group "Statistical Inverse Problems in Biophysics"
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The statistical analysis of biophysical experiments requires tailor suited regularization techniques which are able to incorporate specific prior information and biophysical model building. Statistical multi-scale analysis is such a tool which automatically adapts to the structural properties of the object to be recovered, e.g. a protein distribution. Structural properties may include sparseness or information on the shape of the object. The range of application is broad. Among others, the group develops fully data driven and locally adaptive imaging methods in molecular microscopy and magnetic resonance tomography, efficient sampling schemes in nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and new dimension reduction techniques for the detection of functional mechanisms in protein dynamics.
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Associated research group "Applied Synthetic Biology"
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Synthetic Biology is a new, actively growing field of the life sciences that combines elements from biology and engineering with the aim to design and create life forms with new, unprecedented properties and functions. Synthetic biologists have increased the coding potential of several organisms to allow genetic incorporation of additional “unnatural” amino acids into proteins. These unnatural amino acids have unique chemical or biophysical properties or carry naturally occurring (post-translational) modifications and are therefore fascinating new tools to investigate cellular processes.
Using these tools we develop new strategies to introduce spectroscopic probes into proteins to study the dynamic properties of chromatin. We are also interested in the effect of the post-translational acetylation of lysine residues on protein structure and function.
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Associated research group "Mitochondrial Biogenesis and Assembly of Membrane Protein Complexes"
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We analyze the molecular mechanisms of protein transport across the mitochondrial membranes in order to find out how multi-protein complexes in the outer (TOM) and inner (TIM) membrane mediate this task. This transport process is regulated by intrinsic signals of the precursor proteins that are recognized by the TOM and TIM complexes in the membranes. For our analyses we utilize genetically accessible model systems, in vitro import analyses, and biochemical techniques to address the signal-mediated vectorial transfer of the unfolded polypeptide chain through the transport machineries.
Another aspect of our work addresses how multi-protein complexes in the inner membrane assemble from nuclear-encoded subunits that are imported into mitochondria and mitochondria-encoded subunits exported from the matrix. The studies aim to understand the molecular mechanisms underlying assembly processes in order to understand how defects in these processes lead to neuromuscular disorders. Therefore, we utilize different cell systems and use genetic as well as biochemical approaches.
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Associated research group "Biogenesis and Cell Surface Expression of Membrane Proteins"
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The group works on different aspects of membrane protein biogenesis and its integration into the physiology of organs such as the brain or the heart. We study the early life of tail-anchored proteins that are post-translationally targeted to the endoplasmic reticulum for membrane integration. Other projects address the role of sorting motifs during the passage of ion channels and neurotransmitter receptors through the secretory pathway. One channel under investigation (the KATP channel) couples cellular metabolism to insulin secretion in pancreatic beta cells. In the brain and the heart KATP channels play less defined roles that we currently address employing biochemical methods.
We study biogenesis and trafficking under (patho)physiological conditions in genetically tractable model organisms such as yeast or mouse. Besides membrane protein biochemistry we use GFP-based physiological sensors for small molecules and ions in cellular compartments. This allows us to tackle how ion channels and transporters contribute to different physicochemical milieus inside cells.
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European Neuroscience Institute (ENI)
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The European Neuroscience Institute (ENI) in Göttingen is dedicated to the support of independent work of Young Investigators in the field of Neurosciences. It presently houses three Young Investigator Groups working in the fields of Neuroendocrinology, Neuroplasticity, and Cellbiophysics . It is jointly funded by the Medical School of Göttingen University and the Max-Planck-Society.
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CMPB - DFG Research Center for Molecular Physiology of the Brain
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DFG Research Center for Molecular Physiology of the Brain (CMPB)
The CMPB is one of five research centers funded by the German Research Community (DFG) to focus scientific expertise in innovative research fields. It unites research groups of the Georg-August University, the Max-Planck Society and the German Primate Center in Göttingen. Their research activities focus on molecular processes underlying brain function and the application of new knowledge from these studies in the development of therapies for psychiatric and neurological disorders.
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BCCN - Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Göttingen
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In the BCCN Göttingen, research groups from the Max Planck Institute for Dynamics and Self-Organization, the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, from three faculties of the University of Göttingen (physics, biology, and medicine), the German Primate Center, and the research lab of Otto Bock HealthCare GmbH collaborate in joint projects on the adaptivity of the nervous system ranging from the level of single synapses to the level of cognitive processes.
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© 2012, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen |
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