Alumni - PhDs/PostDocs
Hella Schwanke completed her PhD at the TU Braunschweig in the group of Melanie Brinkmann (P01), where she focused on the molecular mechanism of immune evasion mediated by the M35 protein of murine cytomegalovirus. Hella investigated the direct binding of M35 dimers to regulatory DNA elements and the resulting influence on the binding of the transcription factor interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3) to these sequences. Using methods such as RNAseq, SLAMseq, and ChIPseq, Hella could demonstrate in close collaboration with DEEP-DV groups that M35 affects the expression of the type I interferon Ifnb1 as well as other IRF3-dependent genes. Her study was published in the Journal of Virology (PDF) and in a review article (PDF).
Hella currently works as a biologist in a diagnostic institute for haematological diseases.
Denise Ohnezeit started as a PhD student in Nicole Fischer’s group in P04, working on the manipulation of the host response by human polyomaviruses. Denise graduated in late summer 2022 and joined the labs of Angus Wilson and Ian Mohr at NYU, New York in summer 2023 as a postdoctoral researcher. There, Denise continues her passion for genome-wide analysis of the host response altered by chronic DNA viruses, now focusing on large nuclear DNA viruses.
Anna Katharina Kuderna carried out her PhD research at the Institute of Virology, Ulm University Medical Center (group of Thomas Stamminger). She focused on chromatin remodelers like PHF13, TRIM28, and the HUSH complex in the context of human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) infection. Her work explored their interconnected roles in transposable element regulation, interferon-stimulated gene expression, and their impact on lytic viral replication. She is now planning to advance her career in the biotechnology industry.
Alessandro was a postdoctoral fellow in the Schreiner lab at the Hannover Medical School. As his PhD training was already in the organoid field, he worked on human organoid models as infection models for adenovirus infections and immune responses.
Due to this very applied and cutting-edge field of research, Alessandro became a project manager at Partex.
Dr. rer. nat. Simon Weißmann, PostDoc Grundhoff lab
Leibniz-Institut für Virologie – LIV (P05)
- simon.weissmann@leibniz-liv.de
My main interest has always been how chromatin landscapes are shaped by histone modifying enzymes, as well as their contribution to gene transcription. During my doctoral thesis at the BRIC in Copenhagen, I became intrigued how these enzymes can induce altered states of cell identity that support cancer development. I am using my background in chromatin biology to unravel the fascinating and intricate steps of maturation and chromatinization of herpesvirus genomes during the early phase of infection. I think it is especially interesting to understand the many ways in which herpesviruses exploit the host machinery to ensure controlled viral gene expression programs and latency establishment. I am convinced that by comparing strategies of different herpesviruses to direct chromatin regulators of the host cell to their own viral genomes, we will not only learn about their role in the viral life cycle but we will also identify new therapeutic avenues to disrupt viral latency.
Since school I have loved science and languages. Computer language has also always fascinated me and I wanted to know how it works. The bioinformatics presentation at the LMU’s Open Day showed me how interesting and exciting interdisciplinary science actually is and finally convinced me. That is how I became a bioinformatician. During my studies I learned all the necessary basics from computer science and life sciences. In my bachelor thesis, I entered the field of proteomics and dealt with peptide identification. In my master’s thesis, I studied how data analysis decisions affect the robustness of scientific results. This experience revealed how important correct handling of biological data is. As a graduate student, I have begun to study herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) infection. Here, I am investigating the effects of viral disease primarily at the transcriptional level. In this project, I will extend the analysis to the chromatin level to find out which host cell mechanisms are manipulated by the virus and what the effects are. This may help to better understand the arms race between viruses and immune defenses.
Outside of work, I am drawn to sports (from fitness to ball sports to swimming). This is my perfect balance to sitting in front of the computer for long periods of time.