GBM Studiengruppe Autophagie
We are a team of autophagy enthusiasts focusing on the role of autophagy in health, disease and ageing. We work together to promote research on the topic of autophagy and encourage cooperations between research teams in Germany and abroad. We further aim to facilitate interactions with autophagy networks and associations in other countries, and to support science outreach activities on the topic of autophagy.
A center for autophagy research in Germany is the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1177, funded by the DFG and headed by Ivan Dikic (Frankfurt/Main), which concentrates on unraveling molecular details of selective autophagy. http://www.sfb1177.de
Our autophagy research groups are located at top universities and research institutes in Berlin, Bochum, Bonn, Cologne, Dresden, Düsseldorf, Freiburg, Göttingen, Greifswald, Halle, Hamburg, Hannover, Heidelberg, Jena, Jülich, Kiel, Leipzig, Frankfurt/Main, Mainz, Marburg, Munich, Oldenburg, Osnabrück, Saarbrücken, Stuttgart, Tübingen, Ulm.
Interested in autophagy research?
Join our GBM Studiengruppe Autophagie!
Become a member!
Fact-check GBM Studiengruppe Autophagie
More than two thousand…
…peer-reviewed publications on autophagy in Germany, pioneered by Ulrich Pfeifer (Würzburg, Bonn) in the 1970ies and by Michael Thumm (Stuttgart, Göttingen) in the 1990ies:
1975
Pfeifer U, Scheller H. A morphometric study of cellular autophagy including diurnal variations in kidney tubules of normal rats. J Cell Biol. 64(3):608-21.
1994
Thumm M, Egner R, Koch B, Schlumpberger M, Straub M, Veenhuis M, Wolf DH. Isolation of autophagocytosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae. FEBS Lett. 1994, 349(2):275-80.
DRIVE
The GBM Studiengruppe Autophagie is an associated partner of DRIVE (Driving Next Generation Autophagy Researchers Towards Translation), Marie Skłodowska-Curie Action, Innovative Training Network, H2020-MSCA-ITN-2017, Grant Agreement n. 765912.
Kraft C., et al. Driving Next Generation Autophagy Researchers Towards Translation (DRIVE), an international PhD training program on autophagy. Autophagy 2019, 15(2):347-351.
Our team
Our speaker
Speaker
Tassula Proikas-Cezanne
Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen
Vice Speaker
Michael Thumm
Georg August Universität Göttingen
Tassula Proikas-Cezanne identified the human WIPI genes (WIPI1 through WDR45/WIPI4) in a screening approach in Oxted/UK and Tübingen/Germany, published in 2004 (Proikas-Cezanne T et al., Oncogene. 2004, 23(58):9314-25). WIPI proteins fulfil distinct roles as PI3P effectors in autophagy (Bakula et al., Nat Commun. 2017 May 31;8:15637).
Michael Thumm identified novel yeast ATG genes in screening approaches conducted in Stuttgart/Germany, the first of which was published in 1994 (Thumm M et al., FEBS Lett. 1994, 349(2):275-80). Amongst the subset of yeast ATG genes Michael Thumm identified was the ancestor of the human WIPI genes, ATG18 (Barth H et al., FEBS Lett. 2001 Nov 9;508(1):23-8).
Our scientists
Christian Behl
Prof. Dr. rer. nat.
Professor of Biochemistry
Director of the Institute for Pathobiochemistry
Group Leader
University Medical Center of the
Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz
Main research area:
Influence of aging on the development and progression of human neurodegenerative disorders, aiming to uncover novel approaches to stabilize neuronal function.
Research interest in autophagy:
Focus 1: BAG3-mediated selective macroautophagy as a novel degradation pathway decomposing disease-associated protein aggregates.
Focus 2: Novel components determining cellular protein quality control are identified employing specific C.elegans reporter strains and RNAi libraries. Recently, we were able to characterize the RAB3GAP1/ RAB3GAP2 complex as a new essential factor of macroautophagy initiation.
Petra Beli
Dr. rer. nat.
Emmy Nother Group Leader
Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Mainz
Main research interest:
Specificity in ubiquitin signaling, regulation of the cellular response to DNA damage, mass spectrometry-based proteomics
Research interest in autophagy:
We are interested in the role of selective autophagy in the regulation of the cellular response to DNA damage
Christian Behrends
Dr. rer. nat.
Email: behrends@biochem2.de
Emmy Noether Group Leader
Institute of Biochemistry II
Medical School Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main
Main research area:
Regulation of autophagy in health and disease
Research interest in autophagy:
Functional dissection of the autophagy interaction network, xenophagy and bacterial avoidance, exploiting autophagy for anticancer drug targets, role of ubiquitin networks in autophagy, spatio-temporal regulation of protein complexes by ATG8 proteins
Ralf Braun
Dr. rer. nat.
Email:
ralf.braun@uni-bayreuth.de
Akademischer Rat auf Zeit
Institute of Cell Biology
University of Bayreuth
Main research area:
We are using Saccharomyces cerevisiae models for several neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Heterologous expression of human proteins implicated in these disorders triggers cytotoxicity and imbalances in proteostasis and mitochondrial homeostasis. We aim at dissecting how proteolytic pathways and mitochondrial function are implicated in the execution or prevention of cytotoxicity of disease-associated proteins.
Research interest in autophagy:
We analyze how vacuolar pathways, including (macro-)autophagy and endocytosis/multivesicular body pathway, are implicated in the clearance and detoxification of human proteins causative for neurodegenerative disorders.
Jörn Dengjel
Prof. Dr. rer. nat.
Email: joern.dengjel@medizin.uni-freiburg.de
Group Leader
Proteomics
Center for Biological Systems Analysis
Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies
School of Life Sciences – LifeNet
Albert Ludwings University Freiburg
Main research area:
Description of spatio-temporal protein dynamics during autophagy
Research interest in autophagy:
Identification of human proteins related to autophagy; global protein dynamics during long-term starvation to characterize the influence of different types of autophagy on the cellular proteome; comparing signaling events involved in autophagy and in type I programmed cell death pathways (apoptosis) using a quantitative phosphoproteomics approach.
Ivan Dikic
Prof. Dr. rer. nat.
Email:
dikic@biochem2.uni-frankfurt.de
Professor and Chairman of the Institute of Biochemistry 2
Founding Director of the Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences
Group Leader
Goethe University Medical School Frankfurt am Main
Main research area:
Role of ubiquitin (Ub) as a multivalent cellular signal in the regulation of DNA repair, inflammation, cancer, infection, receptor endocytosis, and proteasomal degradation. The current interests focus on the role of ubiquitin in selective autophagy, which is essential for the clearance of protein aggregates, pathogens, and damaged mitochondria from the cell.
Research interest in autophagy:
Our group is currently interested in the discovery of novel autophagy receptors important for selectivity of cargo delivery, as well as delivery and fusion of mature autophagosomes to the lysosomes.
Ludwig Eichinger
Prof. Dr. rer. nat.
Email:
ludwig.eichinger@uni-koeln.de
Centre for Biochemistry
Medical Faculty
University of Cologne
Main research interests:
The cellular response of Dictyostelium discoideum to stress.
Research interest in autophagy:
We analyse the molecular mechanism of autophagy in D. discoideum. In particular we are interested in the role of autophagy in host-pathogen interactions, in the link between autophagy and the proteasome and in non-autophagic functions of core autophagy proteins.
Stefan Eimer
Prof. Dr. rer. nat.
Email:
S.Eimer@eni-g.de
Professor of Structural Cell Biology
Group Leader
Center for Biological Signalling Studies (BIOSS)
Institute of Biology III
Albert Ludwigs University Freiburg
Ian Gentle
Dr. rer. nat.
Email:
ian.gentle@uniklinik-freiburg.de
Group Leader
Institut für Medizinische Mikrobiologie und Hygiene
Universitäts Klinikum Freiburg
Main research interests:
Regulation of Toll Like Receptor and TNF Family Receptor signalling and their activation of cell death and inflammation.
Research interest in autophagy:
We are interested in how Autophagy may play a role in helping to silence or dampen signals generated from immune receptors. A number of receptors of innate and adaptive immunity can form very large signalling platforms to regulate the outcome of their activation. Depending on the stimulus activation of TLRs and TNF family receptors can lead to inflammation and or cell death. We are interested in the role autophagy plays in silencing these signalling platforms.
Martin Graef
Dr. rer. nat.
Email:
Martin.Graef@age-mpg.de
Group Leader
Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging, Cologne
Main research area:
Our main research area addresses the questions of how do eukaryotic cells regulate or fine-tune the extent of their autophagy response and what cellular processes affect their autophagy capacity in health and disease as well as during ageing.
Jörg Höhfeld
Prof. Dr. rer. nat.
Email:
hoehfeld@uni-bonn.de
Professor for Molecular Cell Biology
Group Leader
Institute for Cell Biology
University of Bonn
Main research area:
My lab is interested in the role of molecular chaperones during protein homeostasis in higher eukaryotes.
Research interest in autophagy:
We have recently identified chaperone-assisted selective autophagy (CASA) as a degradation pathway essential for muscle proteostasis and the maintenance of the actin cytoskeleton in mechanical strained mammalian cells. The pathway is induced by the cochaperone BAG3, which coordinates a chaperone complex during the ubiquitin-dependent targeting of misfolded proteins towards autophagic degradation.
Claudine Kraft
Prof. Dr. rer. nat.
Email:
claudine.kraft@biochemie.uni-freiburg.de
Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, ZBMZ
University of Freiburg
Stefan-Meier-Str. 17
79104 Freiburg
Germany
Main research area:
The main research area of my group is the molecular mechanism of autophagosome biogenesis in the yeast S. cerevisiae. S. cerevisiae is successfully used as model organism to study autophagy and lead to the identification of approximately 40 autophagy-related genes (ATG).
Research interest in autophagy:
One of the central open questions in the autophagic field is the source of the membranes required for autophagosomes formation. In S. cerevisiae, vesicles containing the transmembrane protein Atg9 deliver only part of the required membrane surface from the Golgi to the PAS. Recent data show that forming autophagosomes are linked to the endoplasmic exit sites (ERES), where COPII transport vesicles are generated, that might serve as membrane source or platform for the generation of autophagosome. Therefore, additional lipid sources must be still unknown and are focus of my interest.
Roswitha Krick
Dr. rer. nat.
Email:
rkrick@gwdg.de
Akademische Rätin auf Zeit
Institute of Cellular Biochemistry
Georg August University Göttingen
Main research area:
The main research area of my group is the molecular mechanism of autophagosome biogenesis in the yeast S. cerevisiae. S. cerevisiae is successfully used as model organism to study autophagy and lead to the identification of approximately 40 autophagy-related genes (ATG).
Research interest in autophagy:
One of the central open questions in the autophagic field is the source of the membranes required for autophagosomes formation. In S. cerevisiae, vesicles containing the transmembrane protein Atg9 deliver only part of the required membrane surface from the Golgi to the PAS. Recent data show that forming autophagosomes are linked to the endoplasmic exit sites (ERES), where COPII transport vesicles are generated, that might serve as membrane source or platform for the generation of autophagosome. Therefore, additional lipid sources must be still unknown and are focus of my interest.
Heinz D. Osiewacz
Prof. Dr. rer. nat.
Email:
osiewacz@bio.uni-frankfurt.de
Professor of Molecular Developmental Biology
Group Leader
Institute of Molecular Biosciences
Faculty of Biosciences
Goethe University Frankfurt am Main
Main research area:
We are working on the molecular mechanisms controlling organismic aging using the established fungal aging model Podospora anserina. In this system aging has a strong mitochondrial etiology. A number of mitochondrial pathways effect aging and lifespan. Among these pathways we recently identified autophagy as a longevity assurance pathway. We currently investigate the molecular basis of autophagy in P. anserina and the interaction of autophagy with other mitochondrial quality control pathways (e.g. mitochondrial dynamics, proteolysis).
Kathrin Pallauf
Dr. rer. nat.
Email:
pallauf@foodsci.uni-kiel.de
Postdoctoral scientist
Rimbach laboratory
Institute of Human Nutrition and Food Science
University of Kiel
Tassula Proikas-Cezanne
Prof. Dr. rer. nat.
Professor of Molecular and Cell Biology
Group Leader
Department of Molecular Biology
Interfaculty Institute of Cell Biology
Eberhard Karls University Tübingen
Faculty Member
International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS) „From Molecules to Organisms“, Tübingen
Main research interest:
Autophagy in Health, Disease and Longevity
Research interest in autophagy:
My research group has identified the human WIPI gene and protein family (WIPI1 to 4) and begun to establish their essential roles in autophagy. Our current work is focused on the spatio-temporal regulation of WIPI protein complexes in the process of stochastic and selective autophagy. We aim to target the autophagic activity in human diseases by modulating WIPI gene expression and WIPI protein function.
Carsten Sachse
Dr. rer. nat.
Email:
carsten.sachse@embl.de
Homepage:
Group Leader
EMBL
Structural and Computational Biology Unit
Heidelberg
Main research area:
The Sachse group uses electron cryomicroscopy (cryo-EM) to study the structures of autophagy complexes to elucidate the mechanisms by which cells degrade large molecular cargo.
Research interest in autophagy:
We aim to establish a comprehensive mechanistic understanding of selective autophagy. Three-dimensional structures of autophagy complexes will help to further our understanding how cargo is recognized by specific receptors and how they contribute to the forming autophagosome.
Liliane Schäfer
Prof. Dr. med
Email:
Schaefer@med.uni-frankfurt.de
Professor of Pharmacology
Group Leader
pharmazentrum frankfurt
Institute of Clinical Pharmacology
Goethe University Frankfurt am Main
Professor of Pharmacology
Group Leader
pharmazentrum frankfurt
Institute of Clinical Pharmacology
Goethe University Frankfurt am Main
Ingo Schmitz
Prof. Dr. rer. nat.
Email:
ingo.schmitz@helmholtz-hzi.de
Professor
Group Leader
AG System-orientierte Immunologie und Entzündungsforschung (SIME)
Institute of Molecular and Clinical Immunology
Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg and
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung Brauschweig
Main research area:
My lab is interest in signal transduction mechanisms regulating apoptosis, autophagy and NF-kB in the immune system.
Research interest in autophagy:
Regulation of autophagy by post-translational modification of ATG5 and ATG5’s function in immune cells.
Sebastian Schuck
Dr. rer. nat.
Email:
s.schuck@zmbh.uni-heidelberg.de
Group Leader
CellNetworks Member
Center of Molecular Biology at the University of Heidelberg (ZMBP)
Main research area:
We would like to understand how cells maintain organelle homeostasis, using the yeast endoplasmic reticulum (ER) as an example. We investigate how the unfolded protein response, ER-associated degradation and ER-phagy cooperate to control ER size and maintain ER function during stress.
Research interest in autophagy:
While interested in autophagy in general, we focus on ER-phagy, the selective autophagy of the ER. In yeast, the ER can be selectively targeted by both macroautophagy and microautophagy, giving rise to macro-ER-phagy and micro-ER-phagy. Micro-ER-phagy does not require the known core autophagy machinery but must rely on novel molecular machinery that we are aiming to identify.
Andrea Scrima
Dr. rer. nat.
Email:
Andrea.Scrima@helmholtz-hzi.de
Group Leader
Helmhoz Centre for Infection Research
Braunschweig
Main research area:
Unraveling molecular mechanisms of pathogen recognition/clearance and autophagy-evasion. Further research topics include mechanisms of bacterial adhesion, antimicrobial molecules and transcriptional regulation during infection.
Research interest in autophagy:
Our research focuses on the characterization of central mechanisms of autophagy regulation, the molecular mechanism of pathogen recognition, as well as pathogenic evasion and autophagy modulation mechanisms. Using X-ray crystallography, complemented with proteomics, biochemical/biophysical and infection/cell biological methods, we aim at gaining a detailed understanding of molecular processes in infection and pathogen clearance.
Björn Stork
PD. Dr. rer. nat.
Email:
bjoern.stork@uni-duesseldorf.de
Privatdozent
Group Leader
Institute of Molecular Medicine I
University Hospital Düsseldorf
Main research area:
Signal transduction of autophagy; Crosstalk between cell fate decisions (autophagy, apoptosis, cellular senescence, regulated necrosis); Understanding and overcoming therapy resistance by the modulation of autophagy
Research interest in autophagy:
Signal transduction of the ULK1/2-ATG13-FIP200-ATG101 complex (regulation by posttranslational modifications; assembly of the complex; substrates); Signal transduction of the VPS34/VPS15/BECN1 complex
Transcriptional control of autophagy
Kathrin Thedieck
Prof. Dr. rer. nat.
Email:
kathrin.thedieck@uni-oldenburg.de
Professor of Metabolic Signaling
Group Leader
European Medical School (EMS), Universities of Groningen (NL) and Oldenburg (D)
Main research area:
Our research focuses on the control of metabolic homeostasis by the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR). A major focus is on the crosstalk of mTOR kinase with other cancer signaling and stress networks. The mTOR interactome and the encompassing signaling network are analyzed by biochemical methods, proteomics and cell biology. Systems biology and medicine approaches are adopted to unravel novel regulatory connections within the mTOR network and to make them applicable for cancer therapy.
Research interest in autophagy:
We study autophagy control by mTOR in the context of its crosstalk with other signaling networks and stress granule formation.
Michael Thumm
Prof. Dr. rer. nat.
Professor of Molecular Cell Biology
Group Leader
Institute of Cellular Biochemistry
Georg August University Göttingen
Main research interest:
Molecular mechanism of autophagy in S. cerevisiae
Research interest in autophagy:
Molecular mechanism of autophagy in S. cerevisiae
Christian Ungermann
Prof. Dr. rer. nat.
Professor of Biochemistry
Speaker of the SFB 944 (Cellular Microcompartments)
University of Osnabrück
Main research area:
We are interested in the maturation of organelles prior to their fusion with the lysosome, and concentrate here on yeast as a model system. Our main focus are the activation and turn-over of Rab GTPases and their interacting effectors on endosomes and lysosomes in the context of fusion and organelle contact sites.
Research interest in autophagy:
As fusion of autophagosomes also require maturation steps prior to their fusion competence with lysosomes, we are interested in the control of the maturation and dissection of the steps of selected fusion.
Dieter Willbold
Prof. Dr. rer. nat.
Director
Institut für Physikalische Biologie
Heinrich Heine
University DüsseldorForschungszentrum Jülich GmbH
Institute of Complex Systems
Konstanze F. Winklhofer
Prof. Dr. rer. nat.
Email: konstanze.winklhofer@ruhr-uni-bochum.de
Homepage
Professor and Chair of the Molecular Cell Biology Department
Group Leader
Institute of Biochemistry and Pathobiochemistry
Ruhr-University Bochum
Main research area:
Mechanisms of neurotoxicity and neuroprotection; nerve growth factor halts mitochondrial degeneration in a model of Parkinson’s disease; deciphering and exploiting the neuroprotective activity of parkin.
Thomas Wollert
Dr. rer. nat.
Email: wollert@biochem.mpg.de
Group Leader
Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry
Munich
Main research area:
Revealing molecular mechanisms in membrane trafficking by in vitro reconstitutions.
Research interest in autophagy:
Reconstituting critical steps of autophagy from purified components on model membranes in vitro. We are particularly interested in proteins of the autophagic core machinery. Our aim is to recapitulate the biogenesis of autophagosomes step by step in vitro to eventually produce autophagosomes in the test tube from donor membranes.
Video clips
Please check out the videos below featuring our scientists,
as well as generell videos featuring universities and institutes in Germany.
Claudine Kraft (Freiburg)
The process of autophagy (German)
Ivan Dikic (Frankfurt/Main)
Leibniz Prize Winner 2013 (German, English)
Konstanze Winklhofer (Bochum)
Portrait (German)
Thomas Wollert (Paris)
Interview (English)
Dieter Willbold (Jülich)
Molecular Machines (German)
Christian Behl (Mainz)
Alzheimer Disease (German)
Top 10 universities in Germany
Meet Germany’s Top 10 Universities 2019
Max Planck Institutes in Germany
The Max Planck Society – in 75 Seconds
Our undergraduate students
Rabea Burkhard
Subject: Biology (B.Sc. )
Simon Grzybowski
Subject: Biology (B.Sc. )
Leandra Haas
Subject: Biology (B.Sc. )
Maximilian Haas
Subject: Biology (B.Sc. )
Franziska Klein
Subject: Biology (B.Sc. )
Nantia Leonidou
Subject: Biology (B.Sc. )
Damaris Mayer
Subject: Biology (B.Ed. )
Anna Würth
Subject: Biology (B.Sc. )
Our graduate students
Patricia
Haller
MSc student
Catherine
Hunter
PhD student
Alexandros
Mesaris
PhD student
Carmen
Pastor-Maldonado
MSc student
David
Schüssele
MSc student
Katharina
Sporbeck
PhD student
Join us!
The (German) Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (Gesellschaft für Biochemie und Molekularbiologie, GBM) is the association of about 5300 scientists working in the field of Molecular Life Sciences.
Most members of the GBM are German scientists from universities, industry and other research institutions, covering the entire spectrum of basic and applied Molecular Life Sciences.
As the german constituent society of the Federation of the European Biochemical Societies (FEBS) and the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (IUBMB) it is an active member of the worldwide scientific community and open for colleagues from other countries.
Major international GBM conferences:
„Mosbacher Colloquium“ – The spring conference focusing each year on a selected topic chosen by GBM members
„Herbsttagung der GBM“ – The fall meeting covering the whole range of biochemistry and molecular biology.
The bimonthly periodical „BIOspektrum“ (in German) offers scientific reviews and continuous information to our members.
The GBM awards several prices and honorary lectures to outstanding scientists, extraordinary PhD and postdoctoral research projects. The GBM also provides financial assistance for young members to attend scientific events of the GBM, as well as annual FEBS and IUBMB meetings held in Europe.
GBM members can participate in one or more of our 18 thematically focussed study groups (GBM Studiengruppen) that promote a variety of topics in biochemistry and molecular biology.
The GBM Studiengruppe Autophagie represents the German autophagy association and was founded by Tassula Proikas-Cezanne (Tübingen), Christian Behrends (Munich), Ivan Dikic (Frankfurt) and Michael Thumm (Göttingen) at the 40th FEBS Congress in Berlin, Germany, 6th July 2015.
The goals of the GBM Studiengruppe Autophagie are to promote research on the topic of autophagy in Germany, encourage cooperations between research teams in Germany and abroad, facilitate interactions with autophagy networks and associations in other countries, and to support science outreach activities on the topic of autophagy.
Please join us!
Become a member!