New at the Max Delbrück Center

Her world is a gray one. Dr. Séverine Kunz uses electron microscopy to obtain black and white images from inside the cells and subcellular structures. She has dedicated herself to this hidden world and was recently named head of the MDC’s Electron Microscopy Platform.

Biotechnologist Claudia Crocini is starting a Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship at the MDC in January 2022. Her research examines how the biomechanical properties of tissue ensure a healthy heartbeat. This might open up a new avenue for treating heart disease.

Cancer immunologist Lydia Dyck has started her Marie Curie Postdoctoral Fellowship at the MDC. Her goal is to find new ways for the immune system to recognize and eliminate cancer cells, as tumors often evade the body’s defense mechanisms.

Structural biologists use cutting-edge technologies such as cryo-electron microscopy to gain insights into the architecture of molecules. At the MDC, a research group in structural biology is about to start work. Its leader, Misha Kudryashev, wants to probe the secrets of membrane protein complexes.

Dr. Janine Altmüller’s goal is to raise the profile of genomics research in Berlin. Since July 1 she has headed the BIH and MDC’s joint Genomics Platform, providing support to Berlin researchers and honing new methods and technologies.

Fabian Coscia is the head of the junior research group on Spatial Proteomics at the MDC. He uses artificial intelligence to analyze cancer cell proteomes – the entirety of the proteins produced by the cells. Now, he wants to develop this method further as part of the MSTARS project.

The new cryo-electron microscope on the Buch campus is four meters tall and captures images of tiny, nanometer-scale structures. The MDC has constructed a special building to house this feat of technology, which is now available to Berlin’s structural biology community. Dr. Christoph Diebolder of Charité heads the facility.

A year ago, BIH, MDC and Charité launched the joint research focus "Single Cell Approaches for Personalised Medicine". Its aim is to use innovative single cell technologies to answer clinical questions. This aspiration will be put into practice by four new junior research groups, which have now started.

In December 2020, biophysicist Melissa Birol joined the MDC as a new junior group leader to investigate the behavior and function of disordered proteins in brain cells.

Many researchers would like to see the results of their work put to use in practical applications. Anja Mähler helps to make this a reality. She leads the Clinical Research Unit at the ECRC, which carries out studies to test basic research findings. We paid her a visit for our series “We at the MDC”.