Contact information
Institute for Genetics
CECAD - Cluster of Excellence at the University of Cologne
Joseph-Stelzmann-Straße 26
50931 Cologne
Department of Membrane Dynamics
Max Planck Institute for Biophysics
Max-von-Laue-Str. 3
60438 Frankfurt am Main
CV
Academic education
| 2000 - 2005 | PhD studies, University of Valencia, Spain |
| 2000 - 2003 | Undergraduate Studies in Chemistry, Licenciada, University of Valencia, Spain |
| 1995 - 2000 | Undergraduate Studies in Biochemistry, Licenciada, University of Valencia, Spain |
Scientific degrees
| 2005 | PhD in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, University of Valencia, Supervisor: Dr. Jesus Salgado |
| 07/2003 | Licenciada (eq. Diploma) in Chemistry, Univ. of Valencia, Spain |
| 07/2000 | Licenciada (eq. Diploma) in Biochemistry, Univ. of Valencia, Spain |
Scientific career
| 2023 - present | Director, MPI of Biophysics, Department of Membrane Dynamics, since October 2023 |
| 2019 - present | W3 Professor, Institute for Genetics, University of Cologne |
| 2013 - 2019 | W3 Professor, Interfaculty Institute of Biochemistry, University of Tübingen |
| 2010 - 2013 | Double appointment as Independent Max Planck Research Group Leader at MPI for Intelligent Systems and Junior Group Leader at the German Cancer Research Center, with laboratory located at Bioquant, University of Heidelberg |
| 2005 - 2009 | Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Biophysics, BIOTEC, Technical University (TU) Dresden (Group of Prof. Dr. Petra Schwille) |
Service to scientific community and honours
| 2020 - present | Henriette Herz-Scout of the Alexander von Humboldt foundation |
| 2019 - present | Editorial Board, PLoS Biology |
| 2018 | Consolidator Grant, European Research Council |
| 2018 - present | Advisory Editorial Board, Life Science Alliance |
| 2018 - present | Deputy-speaker, DFG Graduate School "MOMbrane" at University of Tübingen |
| 2018 | Consultation panel, DFG Collaborative Research Centre initiative CRC 1381 |
| 2017 | EMBO Young Investigator |
| 2017 - present | Editorial Board, FEBS Journal |
| 2016 - present | Editorial Board, Journal of Biological Chemistry |
| 2016 - present | Editor book series “Advances in Biomembranes & Lipid Self-Assembly”, Elsevier |
| 2015 | Scientific Evaluation, DFG Collaborative Research Centre CRC 1208, Düsseldorf |
| 2014 - present | Editorial Board, Chemistry and Physics of Lipids |
| 2012 | Starting Grant, European Research Council |
| 2011 | Member of Selection Committee for the Max Planck Research Group Leaders in the section of Chemistry, Physics and Technology |
| 2009 | Max Planck Postdoctoral Fellowship |
| 2007 - 2009 | Marie Curie Intraeuropean Fellowship, BIOTEC, TU Dresden |
| 2005 | Short-term FEBS Fellowship |
| 2001 - 2005 | Predoctoral Fellowship of the Spanish Ministry of Education and Culture |
Publications
-
Mitochondrial pores at the crossroad between cell death and inflammatory signaling
Mitochondria are cellular organelles with a major role in many cellular processes, including not only energy production, metabolism, and calcium homeostasis but also regulated cell death and innate immunity. Their proteobacterial origin makes them a rich source of potent immune agonists, normally…
-
The interplay between BAX and BAK tunes apoptotic pore growth to control mitochondrial-DNA-mediated inflammation
BAX and BAK are key apoptosis regulators that mediate the decisive step of mitochondrial outer membrane permeabilization. However, the mechanism by which they assemble the apoptotic pore remains obscure. Here, we report that BAX and BAK present distinct oligomerization properties, with BAK…
-
DRP1 interacts directly with BAX to induce its activation and apoptosis
The apoptotic executioner protein BAX and the dynamin‐like protein DRP1 co‐localize at mitochondria during apoptosis to mediate mitochondrial permeabilization and fragmentation. However, the molecular basis and functional consequences of this interplay remain unknown. Here, we show that BAX and DRP1…
-
BCL-2-family protein tBID can act as a BAX-like effector of apoptosis
During apoptosis, the BCL-2-family protein tBID promotes mitochondrial permeabilization by activating BAX and BAK and by blocking anti-apoptotic BCL-2 members. Here, we report that tBID can also mediate mitochondrial permeabilization by itself, resulting in release of cytochrome c and mitochondrial…
-
Ferroptotic pores induce Ca2+ fluxes and ESCRT-III activation to modulate cell death kinetics
Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent form of regulated necrosis associated with lipid peroxidation. Despite its key role in the inflammatory outcome of ferroptosis, little is known about the molecular events leading to the disruption of the plasma membrane during this type of cell death. Here we show…
-
Quantitative analysis of super-resolved structures using ASAP
Super-resolution microscopy allows imaging of cellular structures with high throughput and detail. However, the efficient and quantitative analysis of images generated is challenging with existing tools. Here, we develop ASAP (automated structures analysis program) to enable rapid and automated…