Ageing & Disease

Age-associated diseases (e.g. cancer, diabetes, neurodegenerative and autoimmune diseases) are some of the biggest killers facing modern society. The primary cause of ageing is loss of cell function due to DNA damage, epigenetic dysregulation, and protein mis-folding. We study each of these three mechanisms to determine their roles in ageing and disease. By doing this, we hope to find new ways to prevent diseases or even slow ageing.

Keywords: Telomeres, histone modifications, DNA methylation, proteostasis, mutation, DNA repair, immune system, autoimmunity, neurodegeneration, metabolic disease, cancer

Key techniques used: CRISPR-CAS9, embryonic stem cell culture, 3D organoid assays, flow cytometry, next-generation sequencing, bioinformatics, chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)

IPP Groups in Ageing & Disease:

InstituteGroupDescription
Andreas Daiber

The role of DNA damage in the pathogenesis of nitrate tolerance

Ari Waisman

Development and regulation of IL-17 producing cells during inflammation

Benedikt Berninger

Lineage reprogramming glia into neurons

Claudia Keller Valsecchi

Biology of gene dosage alterations

Daniela Kramer

Regulation of pro-inflammatory gene expression in autoinflammatory diseases, infections and cancer

Dorothee Dormann

Molecular mechanisms of RNA-binding protein dysfunction in neurodegenerative dieseases

Edward Lemke

Synthetic biophysics of protein disorder

Helle Ulrich

Genome maintenance and ubiquitin-dependent signalling

Julian König

RNA modifications & regulation

Katja Luck

Integrative Systems Biology

Luciana Berod

T cell metabolism and cell fate decisions

Marie-Luise Winz

Co-translational quality control in eukaryotic cells

Marion Silies

Gene regulatory mechanisms underlying neuronal function

Michael Kühn

Deciphering chromatin-based oncogenic mechanisms in NPM1 leukemia

Nard Kubben

Biology of ageing & ageing-related diseases

Natalia Soshnikova

Intestinal stem cell biology in homeostasis and cancer

Oliver Tüscher

Neurocognitive Mechanisms of Mental Resilience

Peter Baumann

Telomere biology and chromosomal inheritance

Philipp Wild

Systems Medicine approaches to Age-related Diseases in Humans

Sandra Schick

Genome regulation by chromatin remodelling during development and disease

Sara Vieira-Silva

Human Microbiome Ecology

Stephan Grabbe

Skin Immunology & Immunotherapy of Skin Tumours

Susann Schweiger

Genetic Diseases of the Central Nervous System

Sven Danckwardt

Dynamics of transcriptome 3’end diversity in development and disease

Thomas Hankeln

Globins in the nucleus

Thomas Hofmann

DNA damage & Cancer

Tim Sparwasser

Infection Immunology

Tobias Bopp

Immune regulation in aging

Uwe Wolfrum

Ciliary protein function: roles in DNA damage repair and gene regulation

Wolfram Ruf

Coagulation signaling in innate immunity