Completed Junior Research Groups
Jumpertz Lab (2021–2022)
Obesity and metabolic diseases like diabetes belong to the heaviest health burdens in modern and developing societies. Underlying aspects leading to the development of obesity affect energy balance regulation of the human host. Nutrient absorption is one aspect of energy balance, however to date knowledge on how we regulate the absorption of nutrients we eat is sparse. This group investigates the underlying mechanisms leading to metabolic diseases with a focus on the interplay of the gut microbiota and host metabolism at the intersection of nutrient absorption.
Reiner Jumpertz-von Schwartzenberg has accepted the appointment to the full professorship for Clinical Metabolism and Obesity Research at the University of Tübingen in the summer term of 2022.
Maier Lab (2019–2022)
The human body, and the gut in particular, provides an ideal ecosystem for microbial communities, which in turn play a fundamental role in human physiology and pathology. The Maier lab aims at assessing the stability of these microbial communities, and their ability to silence pathogenic members of the community and to resist intruders. It also aims to understand how drugs can impact communities and whether one could use drugs to restore a healthy balance.
Lisa Maier has been appointed to the full professorship for Microbiome-Host Interactions at the University of Tübingen in April 2022.
Molitor Lab (2020–2025)
Methanogens are part of the human gut microbiome but very little is known on the interactions between methanogens and the rest of the microbiome. The Molitor Lab is interested in (i) mining new methanogen-specific viruses and (ii) studying the interaction of these viruses with their methanogenic hosts. The long term goal is to investigate the influence of methanogenic viruses within microbial communities and to deploy these viruses to modulate the composition of microbiomes.
Bastian Molitor has been appointed to the full professorship for Microbial Metabolic Biochemistry at Leipzig University in November 2024.
Petras Lab (2021–2025)
Being able to identify a wide range of small molecules in complex environments provides us with thousands of compounds but little knowledge about their ecological relevance. Combining a unique expertise at the interface of natural product research, mass-spectrometry-based metabolomics and proteomics as well as chemical biology, the Petras Lab aims to determine the influence of small molecules on complex microbial communities and mine novel bioactive compounds. The long-term goal is to investigate the molecular function and the role of natural products in shaping the structure of microbial communities and the interaction of these assemblies with their hosts.
Daniel Petras has been appointed assistant professor for Biochemistry at the University of California, Riverside in 2024.