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Dr. Frank EISENHABER
Head of Division
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Research Overview
Functional interpretation of genome data in terms of biomolecular mechanisms is the major task in fundamental life science. Research results in this area will boost mechanistic research in other areas such as cell biology, genetics, immunology and disease-oriented fields. Gene function determination is a first and necessary step towards systematic understanding of biological systems.
The division will involve three groups: |
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1. Protein Sequence Analysis Group
The research will focus on the sequence-based function prediction and the derivation of new sequence-function correlations. This group will also interact with external experimental partners for collaborations and analyze their data with respect to molecular function of genes/proteins and biomolecular mechanisms. |
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2. The ANNOTATOR Group
The work will lead to the creation of a sequence-analytic infrastructure including sophisticated automated work-flows for computational biology research based on the ANNOTATOR software environment. |
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3. The Biochemistry Group
The protein biochemistry team focuses on the verification of sequence-analytic hypotheses with regard to molecular/cellular function of proteins and for the generation of extrapolatable experimental data for the development of new prediction tools. With the standard assays (enzymological tests, testing for posttranslational modifications, search for protein substrates of enzymes/receptors/ transporters, etc.), the biochemical lab can bridge the gap between theoretical predictions on one hand, and cell biology and genetics research on the other for a large number of external partners. |
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| What is truly unique about the Biomolecular Function Discovery Division is the group's interactive and integrated research. Scientists from multiple disciplines (molecular biology, genetics, biochemistry and bioinformatics) work closely together to fully understand different aspects of the inherently complex systems intrinsic to living organisms, covering the triad of (i) gene function prediction supported by (ii) intelligent software-workflows and (iii) experimental verification. |
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Research Objectives
The major goal is the determination of the various aspects of molecular and cellular function (enzymatic activities, posttranslational modifications, 3D structures, translocation signals, etc.) of gene products available in form of uncharacterized genome sequences and the discovery of new cellular pathways with methods from computational biology and experimental biochemistry. |
