The “TUD Young Investigator”scheme aims to counteract the structural disadvantages sometimes experienced by this group of researchers due to their lack of defined status and inadequate or nonexistent connection to a faculty.

Every "TUD Young Investigator" will be paired with a TU Dresden professor as mentor and will be accepted by the faculty as examiner in doctoral procedures, particularly with regard to the dissertations they (co-)supervise. Additionally, the junior group leaders will get the opportunity to take part in teaching and various trainings individually designed to address the needs of academics in this qualification phase.

Congratulations to Aida and Türkü!    

Researchers in the group of Agnes Toth-Petroczy at the Max-Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) and at the Center for Systems Biology Dresden (CSBD) have now developed a machine learning classifier (a type of algorithm) that is less biased towards the proteins with high level of disorder. The classifier PICNIC—Proteins Involved in CoNdensates In Cells—accurately predicts proteins that form condensates by learning the amino acid patterns in protein sequences and structures, along with their intrinsic disorder features. Anna Hadarovich, one of the two lead authors of the publication in Nature Communications and a postdoctoral researcher in the group of Agnes, explains, “We trained the classifier with proteins from human. However, I was positively surprised to see how well the predictions of PICNIC worked on other species that it wasn't trained on. We proved this with previously published experimental data.” Hari Raj Singh, the second lead author and postdoctoral researcher in the group of Anthony Hyman, who is a director at the MPI-CBG, performed the experimental validation of the classifier PICNIC. He says, “We tested 24 proteins predicted to be part of condensates in cells and found the tool to be about 82% accurate, regardless of how much structural disorder the proteins had.”

“We developed a machine-learning tool that can analyze condensate proteins across entire proteomes, the complete set of proteins produced by a cell, in different organisms. PICNIC shows that it can identify general patterns using only protein sequence information and structures derived from it across many different species,” says Agnes Toth-Petroczy, who oversaw the study, and continues, “These results can help us understand how biomolecular condensates have evolved and predict more proteins involved in condensates. This could also help identify protein targets for modifying diseased condensates and aid drug development.” The classifier PICNIC is open-source Python package that is easy to use, so everyone can use it for any protein, synthetic or real from different species.

The research group of Agnes Toth-Petroczy seeks to understand protein sequence space and the collective organization of proteins into biomolecular condensates in the light of evolution and erroneous protein production, i.e. transcription and translation errors that lead to phenotypic mutations. Agnes says, “Proteins are the most intriguing biomolecules of life, driving essential functions. We use an interdisciplinary approach combining computational and experimental biology to advance systems level understanding of proteins and biomolecular condensates in evolution, health and disease. With my membership in the EMBO Young Investigator Programme, I hope to further my research here in Dresden, and I feel very honored to be part of such a vibrant community.”

As part of the Young Investigator Programme, Agnes has access to a lot of networking opportunities for herself and her lab members. The young investigators, who receive an award of 15,000 euros, also benefit from training in laboratory leadership and responsible conduct of research, access to core facilities at EMBL in Heidelberg, Germany, and mentoring by EMBO Members. They can apply for additional grants, for example, for organizing or travelling to conferences.

Of the 27 new EMBO Young Investigators, 14 are female (52%) and 13 are male (48%). They are based in 10 member states of the EMBC, the intergovernmental organization that funds the EMBO Programmes, and Japan. In total, the program received 207 eligible applications, and the success rate was 13%. In the framework of the memorandum of cooperation between EMBO and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), scientists funded by certain programs of JST were eligible to apply to the EMBO Young Investigator Programme for the first time in 2024.

About EMBO

EMBO is an organization of more than 2,100 leading researchers that promotes excellence in the life sciences in Europe and beyond. The major goals of the organization are to support talented researchers at all stages of their careers, stimulate the exchange of scientific information, and help build a research environment where scientists can achieve their best work.

EMBO Press Release

The non-profit Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation is supporting the project with EUR 20 million over a period of ten years, thereby providing half of the EUR 40 million total. The Max Planck Society, TU Dresden and the Free State of Saxony are financing the other half of the project, which aims to facilitate research in the field of biological and biomedical AI. To this end, a new division with two research groups is being established at the Center for Systems Biology Dresden (CSBD), an inter-institutional center jointly run by the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (MPIPKS) and TUD Dresden University of Technology. 

The new research division will also work in close partnership with the AITHYRA Institute in Vienna, which was established in September 2024 and is also funded by the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation. DeepMind Professor Michael Bronstein has been recruited as Founding Director for this unique European Institute devoted to artificial intelligence in the field of biomedicine.  

BioAI Dresden combines innovative AI methods with knowledge from biochemistry and physics across the entire spectrum of biology, with the aim of making a decisive contribution to a new scientific understanding of our health. The selection and appointment of directors and research group leaders will follow the excellence criteria and procedures of the Max Planck Society.  

The combination of biomedicine and artificial intelligence holds enormous potential – potential that can only be realized through comprehensive and interdisciplinary collaboration. This is why BioAI Dresden and the AITHYRA Institute are seeking out partnerships with outstanding research institutions such as the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) with its six sites in Europe, EPFL – Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, the University of Oxford, and the Broad Institute in the USA. The new research project will enable Dresden to fully use and develop its potential.

Michael Kretschmer,  
Minister President of the Free State of Saxony
“When it comes to medical and biotechnology, Saxony is a world-renowned hub of expertise. In recent years, significant progress has been made in this area thanks to research and development, enabling diseases to be identified and treated more effectively. With this new research program, we are setting the course for the future. Artificial intelligence will increasingly become an integral part of our daily lives in the years to come. We also want to exploit these opportunities for biomedicine. I would like to thank the non-profit Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation, the Max Planck Society and TU Dresden for their tremendous dedication, and I wish the researchers every success.” 

Sebastian Gemkow,  
Minister of Science of the Free State of Saxony  
“With BioAI Dresden, another unique and outstanding field of research is emerging in the science hub of Saxony. The Max Planck Society and TU Dresden are joining forces with the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation to combine their expertise in biomedicine and artificial intelligence, thus breaking into a new field of research. This has the potential to yield completely new approaches for biological systems across different levels, to explain the underlying principles of how biological systems function, and to predict their response to disruption. As a result, it paves the way for new forms of treatment in medicine and pharmaceutics. I am convinced that this new research division will very quickly gain an international reputation as an institute for cutting-edge research and be perpetuated as a university alliance.” 

Christoph Boehringer,  
Chairman of the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation  
“The recent Nobel Prize awards have emphasized the huge potential of AI and biomedicine for human health. The non-profit Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation is committed to creating the best possible conditions for independent research in this field in Europe. Our commitment is also intended to inspire the European ideas of scientific freedom and international collaboration. An outstanding collaboration that serves the well-being of all people in Europe and beyond.” 

Dr. Stephan Formella,  
Managing Director at the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation 
“If we are to establish a relevant European focus from a global perspective in the field of AI and biomedicine, we need strong collaboration between different stakeholders. As a non-profit, independent foundation, we see it as our mission to build bridges between these groups. This means that every site we support can act as an individual pillar in the future, with the resulting bridges creating an even greater impact. In addition to our support in Vienna, we have now also laid the foundations for this in Dresden.”  

Prof. Patrick Cramer,  
President of the Max Planck Society 
“The MPG has long been a European driving force in the field of AI. The journal NATURE lists us in 7th place among the top 10 “Rising Institutions in Artificial Intelligence”. In collaboration with the Austrian Academy of Sciences and with the support of the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation, we now want to join forces further in this area of research. After all, there are many good reasons not to leave this field to the big tech companies alone. Basic research can and will address questions that profit-driven companies do not take up, but which can be of great benefit to the general public.” 

Prof. Ursula Staudinger,  
Rector of TUD Dresden University of Technology  
“By signing this agreement today, we are building another bridge between disciplines, stakeholders and locations. Thanks to the support from the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation, the Max Planck Society, and the Free State of Saxony, two new research groups can now be established and an inaugural director appointed at the Center for Systems Biology at TUD, with the aim of developing an innovative branch of research at the interface between AI and biomedicine. This project strengthens the ties between TUD and the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics, which are jointly conducting research in the CSBD – including in the team of Ivo Sbalzarini, who is also a Professor and Dean at TUD's Faculty of Computer Science. What's more, this project is a good complement to our core research areas in the field of digital sciences. As one of nine national high-performance computing centers and with lighthouses such as CIDS and SCADS.AI, TUD offers excellent infrastructure and paves the way to additional cooperation opportunities.” 

Prof. Stephan Grill, 
Director of the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics  
“Living systems are incredibly complex. AI will be key to unraveling this complexity and understanding how living systems work. This exciting joint project will allow us to develop a new generation of physics-informed biomedical AI algorithms for identifying the principles and mechanisms that make up living systems. We are therefore ideally positioned here to drive the next revolution in the life sciences.” 

Minister of Science Sebastian Gemkow; Prof. Stefan Bornstein, UKDD; Marc Wittstock, Managing Director BIS; Prof. Heather Harrington, Director MPI-CBG; Prof. Stephan Grill, Director MPI-CBG; Minister President Michael Kretschmer; Prof. Patrick Cramer, President of the MPG; Prof. Ursula Staudinger, Rector of TUD Dresden University of Technology; Dr. Dr. Michel Pairet, Member of the Board of the BIS; Dr. Stephan Formella, Managing Director at the BIS; Christoph Boehringer, Chairman of the BIS; Minister of State Dr. Andreas Handschuh (v.l.). © Pawel Sosnowski

Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation 
The Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization committed to the promotion of the medical, biological, chemical, and pharmaceutical sciences. It was founded in 1977 by Hubertus Liebrecht, a member of the Boehringer family, co-owners of Boehringer Ingelheim. With its “Plus 3,” “Exploration Grants” and “Rise up!” funding programs, it supports excellent researchers in crucial phases of their careers. It also funds the international Heinrich Wieland Prize and awards for emerging scientific talent, and supports projects at various institutions such as the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) in Mainz, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Heidelberg, and the AITHYRA Institute in Vienna. https://boehringer-ingelheim-stiftung.de/en/index.html

TUD Dresden University of Technology 
As a University of Excellence, TUD Dresden University of Technology is one of the leading and most dynamic research institutions in Germany. With around 8,300 staff and 29,000 students in 17 faculties, it is one of the largest technically-oriented universities in Europe. Founded in 1828, today it is a globally oriented, regionally anchored top university that develops innovative solutions to the world's most pressing issues. In research and teaching, the university unites the natural and engineering sciences with the humanities, social sciences and medicine. This wide range of disciplines is an outstanding feature that facilitates interdisciplinarity and the transfer of science to society. 

MPI-CBG 
The Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), located in Dresden, is one of more than 80 institutes of the Max Planck Society, an independent, non-profit organization in Germany. 550 curiosity-driven scientists from over 50 countries ask: How do cells form tissues? The basic research programs of the MPI-CBG span multiple scales of magnitude, from molecular assemblies to organelles, cells, tissues, organs, and organisms. The MPI-CBG invests extensively in Services and Facilities to allow research scientists shared access to sophisticated technologies.  

“The field of fluorescent microscopy is very multidisciplinary. This multidisciplinarity is what fascinates me about this field. Optical microscopy has the unique ability to look inside living cells and visualize biological processes as they are taking place. The fundamental challenge of optical resolution has been overcome in recent decades; however, these developments have come at the cost of a reduced acquisition speed. In most cases, to such a low level that the methods are limited to fixed samples. My goal at the MPI-CBG is to push the speed of high-resolution microscopy techniques to uncover and understand fundamental biological processes.

Welcome to the institute, Michael!

Michael studied physics at the Technical University of Munich. In 2016, he started his Ph.D. work at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in the research group of Stefan W. Hell with a focus on Nano-Biophotonics. For his Ph.D. thesis he was awarded with the Otto Haxel Award for Physics in 2021 and with the Otto Hahn Medal in 2022. Michael continued his postdoctoral work in the group of Stefan W. Hell until 2024, when he became a research group leader at the MPI-CBG.

Meritxell Huch is receiving the award in recognition for her pioneering research on human organoids. Her work has significantly advanced the use of organoid models in drug discovery, screening, and disease modeling for personalized medicine. Organoids are small, in vitro organ-like structures derived from stem cells. Meritxell and her team have studied the growth and regeneration of animal and human liver and pancreas organoids. Her research is of great importance for the development of new therapies to combat life-threatening cancer in these organs without the need for animal testing. For her scientific work, Meritxell has already received several awards, including the EMBO Young Investigator Award and the German Stem Cell Network Award. In 2023, she was elected to become a member of the European Molecular Biology Organization. Since May 2024, Meritxell Huch has been an honorary professor for stem cell research and tissue regeneration at the Medical Faculty of the TU Dresden.

The Otto Bayer Award is presented alternating with the Hansen Family Award every second year. It recognizes leading scientists working in German-speaking countries for ground-breaking research in chemistry or biochemistry. It was established in 1984 by a provision in the will of Professor Otto Bayer, a former Director of Research at Bayer.

Press Release of the Bayer Foundation: https://www.bayer-foundation.com/winners-announcement-otto-bayer-award-and-early-excellence-science-awards-2024

The research groups of Anne Grapin-Botton at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics and of Frank Jülicher and Marko Popović, both at the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems, set out to investigate the rotation of spherical cell clusters. The researchers looked at lab-grown mouse pancreas organoids—models of an organ in three dimensions. Tissue rotation is quite common and is also observed in other organoid systems or in embryos.

“We found that many of these cell clusters rotate continuously, with the direction of rotation sometimes drifting or stopping entirely,” says Tzer Han Tan, one of the three lead authors of the study. He continues, “We asked ourselves why the cell clusters (or organoids) are rotating and reached out to our physicist colleagues Frank Jülicher and Marko Popović.” The researchers built a three-dimensional physical model to understand the collective cell behavior. Those 3D vertex models are usually used to describe other things, but here, the researchers added a polarity vector for cells to the system and set up the model on a round sphere. “By running a simulation and then comparing it with experimental data for rotation speed and the stability of the rotation axis, we were able to show that the interplay of traction forces and cell polarity can explain these rotational behaviors,” say Frank Jülicher and Marko Popović.

Spherical tissue rotates solidly most of the time, like the earth, but the sphere can sometimes transition to a flowing state and spontaneously break symmetry. The collective cell behavior can give rise to this chiral asymmetry in three dimensions. An object or a system can be described as chiral if it is distinguishable from its mirror image. Both rotational motion and turbulent flows are necessary to achieve chiral asymmetry.  

Anne Grapin-Botton, one of the three supervising authors, summarizes, “The robust mechanism for chiral symmetry breaking that we have discovered may have implications to understand the development of left-right asymmetry in biological systems. Our results most likely apply to rotating spheres composed of many cell types and in the pancreas may be deployed on other geometries such as tubes. This may be essential for understanding how cells behave on complex three-dimensional surfaces.”

Michael Kretschmer, Minister President of Saxony, presented the award to the 70-year-old at the MPI-CBG during a symposium on October 29.

The mathematician is one of the pioneers in the field of bioinformatics, and his scientific work and the BLAST algorithm, which he co-developed, were crucial to the decoding of the human genome.

In his laudatory speech, Kretschmer also referred to Prof. Myers' special achievements in strengthening Saxony as a center of science and research, and in particular the biotechnology cluster in the Free State of Saxony. “You have made groundbreaking achievements and shown outstanding commitment to Saxony as a center of biotechnology.” All of this is invaluable, he said.

The Saxon Order of Merit is the highest state honor in Saxony. With this award, the Free State honors people who have shown outstanding commitment in the political, economic, cultural, social, societal, or voluntary sectors. The order was established in 1996 and first awarded on October 27, 1997. It can be awarded to individuals from Germany and abroad who have made a particular contribution to the Free State of Saxony and the people who live here. So far, the Saxon Order of Merit has been awarded 402 times.

Prof. Dr. Ivo Sbalzarini, Prof. Dr. Stephan Grill, Saxon Science Minister Sebastian Gemkow, Prof. Dr. Heather Harrington, Daphne Myers, Prof. Dr. Eugene Myers, Dr. Anne Grapin-Botton, Saxon Minister President Michael Kretschmer, and Prof. Dr. Anthony Hyman (from left to right) © Katrin Boes / MPI-CBG

“My work is in an interdisciplinary area called algebraic statistics. Some models arrive from phylogenetics or can be used to model data from biology.” says Aida Maraj. “Mathematics is a new part at the MPI-CBG and CSBD.  I see it as a privilege to build new things here together with my colleagues. ”

Welcome to the institute, Aida!

Aida studied mathematics at the University of Tirana in Albania and moved in 2015 to the University of Kentucky, USA, for her PhD in Mathematics with a thesis on Algebraic and Geometric properties of Hierarchical Models. In 2020 she went to Leipzig as a postdoctoral researcher at the Max-Planck-Institute for Mathematics in the Sciences. After a year, she  moved back to the USA with postdoctoral positions at the University of Michigan and Harvard University before starting her position as research group leader in Dresden. Her research has been supported with grants by the American Mathematical Society and the National Science Foundation.

The series will be kicked off by Nobel Prize Laureate Thomas C. Südhof, a German-American biochemist and neuroscientist. His research focuses on synapses as fundamental switching points of the nervous system. Together with his colleagues Randy W. Schekman and James E. Rothman, Südhof was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2013 for his discoveries of transport processes in cells. From October 9 to 11, there are several opportunities to get to know him and his work better and to exchange ideas with him.

During the public session “Next Generation: Speed talks with young scientists” on October 9th at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), four young scientists, among them MPI-CBG research group leader Sandra Scharaw, presented their current research in exciting power pitches. The presentations were followed by a discussion with Thomas Südhof, who provided valuable feedback to the scientists.

On October 10 at 4p.m. there will be a public lecture at the Medical Faculty with Thomas Süfhof in English with the title “Mechanisms mediating long-term memory formation – Memory network: Neuronal circuits and the art of the long-term memory.”

Sandra Scharaw in conversation with Nobel Prize laureate Thomas Südhof. © Franziska Friedrich / MPI-CBG

Alice explains: “I am grateful for the opportunity to continue my research on the endosomal escape of RNA nano-carriers here at the MPI-CBG. My project focuses on improving how lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) deliver RNA into cells, which is important for treatments like gene therapy. One major issue is that after LNPs enter cells, they often get trapped inside tiny compartments called endosomes, limiting their effectiveness. With my project, I want to better understand and solve this problem by studying how LNPs interact with endosomal membranes by testing different LNP formulations and pH levels. With the help of advanced microscopy techniques, I also aim to recreate the process where RNA moves across endosomal membranes using giant vesicles that mimic endosomes. Finally, I plan to introduce new types of phospholipids to LNPs to see how they fuse with real endosomes in live cells. This will allow tracking of RNA release and whether it successfully leads to protein production in the cells.”

By recapitulating the mechanisms of endosomal escape, the project aims to gain novel insights that will contribute to the development of more effective RNA delivery systems.

MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships enhance the creative and innovative potential of researchers holding a PhD and wishing to acquire new skills through advanced training and international, interdisciplinary, and inter-sectoral mobility. The funding supports researchers ready to pursue frontier research and innovation projects in Europe and worldwide, including in the non-academic sector.

Congratulations, Alice!

Postdoctoral researcher Michael Staddon from the research group of Carl Modes at the Max Planck Institut of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) in Dresden and the Center for Systems Biology Dresden (CSBD) now developed a new mathematical model based on the classic Turing model, where the orientation of the pattern is influenced by the shape of the surface.

The mathematical model known as a Turing model, named after the mathematician Alan Turing, explains how patterns can arise naturally in biological systems. It was proposed in 1952 as a way to describe how interacting chemicals, called “morphogens,” diffuse and react with each other to create patterns. However, standard Turing models generate patterns without any particular direction, while in nature these patterns are often aligned in specific directions.

“Our theory suggests how Turing patterns, like the stripes on tigers and zebras, align with the form and curves of the body. Their stripes go around the legs and torso, which is in the direction of highest curvature. In the mathematical model we developed, the pattern alignment of the stripes is coupled to the curvature of the surface,” explains Michael Staddon.

The model proposes that the curvature of an animal’s surface can influence the rate of diffusion in a pattern and help explain the correct orientation of patterns, like zebra stripes, through simulations. During early development in embryos, the surface curvatures are much more pronounced than in adults, so the effects of curvature on pattern formation can be stronger.

“Our model suggests that the shape of an animal can influence pattern formation without needing complex spatial signals. It introduces a new way of linking reaction-diffusion models, such as the Turing model, with local curvature information instead of large-scale signals,” explains Michael Staddon. “The model could also be extended to more curved areas, such as in early embryonic development when animals have bean-like shapes. I can imagine that the difference in fur color between the stomach and back in many mammals could be modeled using this curvature-based approach to pattern formation.”

Quantitative methods are necessary to fortify the life sciences. With the rise of computational data analysis, modeling and simulation, this is more accessible than ever. To broach this topic, the course was led by two leading biophysicists: Rob Phillips, the Fred and Nancy Morris Professor of Biophysics, Biology, and Physics at the California Institute of Technology, and Jané Kondev, the William R. Kenan Jr. Professor of Physics at Brandeis University. The summer school aimed to teach scientists how to use quantitative frameworks and computational tools to make predictive statements about cellular behavior. Participants introduced to this new wave of thinking ranged from PhD students to research group leaders. Through lectures and hands-on training, participants explored real-world case studies that highlight fundamental physical principles at work within biological systems.

A key feature of the course was its emphasis on demystifying the mathematics and models that often seem daunting. Instead of field-specific jargon, Phillips and Kondev together with teaching assistants Ana Duarte and Kian Faizi focused on intuitive, conceptual teaching that allows researchers from diverse backgrounds to grasp and apply these concepts to their work. Known for his innovative and philosophical teaching style, Rob Phillips broke down complex topics into manageable pieces that left the audience with key takeaways, not just on how to approach quantitative biology but why it is crucial to their research. Phillips has earned an international reputation as a teacher and has traveled extensively to give the course in various institutes. These lectures were complemented by interactive sessions where participants developed models and simulations, gaining practical experience with tools that are becoming indispensable to modern biological research.

The video reveals the dynamic processes of fly embryogenesis, crucial for uncovering genetic pathways that mirror those in humans and other mammals, with applications for cancer research, birth defects, and potential treatment development. This year, the video competition received 370 video entries from 40 countries.

The 30-second video shows an early embryo of the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster going through the first nuclei divisions and gastrulation – a process in which animal embryos undergo tissue flows and folding events that transform a simple monolayer of cells into a complex multi-layered structure called gastrula. The movie starts at the tenth mitotic cycle, when the nuclei are already at the surface of the embryo, and continue to divide in synchronized waves. At the fourteenth cycle, at about 11 seconds into the movie, the embryo cellularizes, with each nucleus being encapsulated by cell membranes. When this happens, the process of gastrulation begins. Disruptions in these processes, such as the epithelial-mesenchymal transition—a process normal in embryogenesis but problematic when occurring unexpectedly—are known to contribute to the invasiveness of lung, liver, and breast cancer.

Bruno C. Vellutini explains, “I am honored that my video is the winner in the Nikon Small World in Motion Competition. The potential of microscopes to see beyond the limitations of our human eyes amazes me. My passion for photomicrography was sparked by the ability of microscopes to capture and observe stunning microscopic phenomena through pictures or movies, to make new discoveries, and to share this captivating world with others. I think my video can be interesting for everyone, as fruit fly embryos can be found in our homes. This video reveals that the fascinating dynamics of cells and tissues are happening every day in the most mundane living beings around us.”

“The beauty of basic research in biology,” says Dr. Vellutini, “is that what we learn in one organism is often applicable to others and has the potential to contribute to the understanding of human diseases.”

Bruno C. Vellutini is a biologist and researcher working in the field of evolutionary developmental biology. He studies how different embryos build their body parts to understand the evolution of animal diversity. Before working at the MPI-CBG, Bruno graduated from the University of São Paulo. He did his MSc in Zoology at the Center for Marine Biology (CEBIMar/USP) and his PhD in Molecular and Computational Biology at the Sars International Centre for Marine Molecular Biology of the University of Bergen.

Second place was awarded to Jay McClellan for his video of water droplets evaporating from the wing scales of a peacock butterfly (Aglais io). The final product used image stacking and a custom CNC motion control system to handle evaporating droplets and ensure smooth, rapid image capture.

Third place was awarded to Dr. Jiaxing Li for his video of an oligodendrocyte precursor cell in the spinal cord of a zebrafish.

Nikon's Small World in Motion encompasses any movie or digital time-lapse photography taken through the microscope. Entries are judged by an independent panel of experts who are recognized authorities in the area of photomicrography and photography. These entries are judged on the basis of originality, informational content, technical proficiency, and visual impact.

Press Release from Nikon

For additional information, please visit www.nikonsmallworld.com

Elevator dynamics
The team’s attention was drawn to this part of the protein because it had always been overlooked. “We noticed that no one ever studied the relevance of this part of the protein, though nearly all elevator proteins carry it. That made it interesting for us,” explains Benedikt Kuhn, the first author of the study. They performed their studies on the SLC23 family, whose human members transport Vitamin C. To understand how the hinge affects the transporter’s dynamics, the researchers created single amino acid variations, so-called mutations. They then compared the behavior of the altered proteins with the original protein, using probes that indicate whether the elevator is up or down. They found that single mutations in the hinge region could change the resting position of the elevator from ‘down’, accessing the inside of the cell, to ‘up’, accessing the outside of the cell, or to a position in between. Importantly, these mutations dramatically affected the transport function as well.

Wedging the door
To determine whether an elevator that is up can still go down, the researchers used a nanobody, which is a small piece of camelid antibodies, that specifically binds to the ‘elevator down’ state and locks it in place, much like a wedge in a door. Indeed, the elevators that were mostly up due to the hinge mutation could be trapped by the nanobody in the down state. This is important, as while the previous experiments only showed the position of the elevator, this experiment confirmed it could still move down. The elevator with the other mutation, that remains in the middle, was not trapped by the nanobody and thus does not move fully down. Different mutations in the hinge can therefore completely change the elevator’s movements, underscoring the importance of the hinge.

Eric Geertsma, who supervised the study, concludes: “The discovery not only provides important fundamental knowledge on how transport dynamics of this family of membrane proteins are organized. It provides new leads that could aid in the re-activation of defective proteins in disease.”

Claudia Gerri wants to investigate a mysterious process of reproduction in mammals: the development of the placenta. In her laboratory at the MPI-CBG, the young Italian scientist is investigating how cell lines are formed and how they communicate with each other and with the surrounding microenvironment in order to build an organ. Gerri is driven by the interest in understanding how the environment and neighboring tissues influence early cell fate decisions and how progenitor cells interpret and respond to these signals. Studying the formation of fetal placental progenitor cells and their interactions with maternal tissues will shed light on the interaction of two tissues and organisms and understand their development. Gerri wants to shed light on a still unknown biological phenomenon: the principles of robust organ morphogenesis, the placenta, during development.

The "GSCN 2024 Hilde Mangold Award" goes to Mina Gouti from the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin. The "GSCN Publication of the Year Award 2024" is awarded  to Jorge Lázaro, Miki Ebisuya and the other authors for the publication "A stem cell zoo uncovers intracellular scaling of developmental tempo across mammals", 2023, Lázaro J, Costanzo M, Sanaki-Matsumiya M, Girardot C, Hayashi M, Hayashi K, Diecke S, Hildebrandt TB, Lazzari G, Wu J, Petkov S, Behr R, Trivedi V, Matsuda M, Ebisuya M., Cell Stem Cell, 30: 938-949. The research group of Miki Ebisuya is also located in Dresden at the Cluster of Excellence Physics of Life at the TU Dresden.

The three GSCN awards are endowed with 1,500 Euros each and the winners will give a lecture at the Presidential Symposium on Thursday, 26 September 2024, at the GSCN Conference in Jena.

Since 2013, the GSCN has been networking stem cell researchers working in Germany both nationally and internationally and communicating their results and research to a broad public. The promotion of young scientists and the presentation of outstanding female scientists receive special attention at the GSCN with the “GSCN Hilde Mangold Award.” Since 2021, the GSCN has been cooperating closely with the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) in the jointly founded “Dialogue Platform Stem Cell Research.”

Congratulations to all awardees!

Press release of the German Stem Cell Network: https://www.gscn.org/scientific-resources/german-stem-cell-network-awards