Dr. Dr. Johanna Scheuermann is joining the institute as an associate professor (W2)

The Excellence Cluster for Systems Neurology and the Institute for Metabolic Biochemistry welcome their new member Dr. Dr. Johanna Scheuermann, who is joining the institute as an associate professor (W2).

Johanna’s laboratory is going to investigate the roles and mechanisms of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in developmental and disease processes, particularly in the contexts of neurodegeneration and cardiovascular disease. LncRNAs represent a novel and highly interesting family of regulatory molecules exerting crucial functions in many developmental and cell identity specification pathways. Their precise roles and molecular mechanisms of action are hardly characterized to date, promising exciting findings that will contribute both to our understanding of basic biological questions as well as identify disease pathways and candidate drug targets.

The lab is going to use a combined approach of genome-wide sequencing techniques, embryonic stem cell culture and differentiation assays, RNA and protein biochemistry, advanced imaging, and in vivo models.

Johanna obtained an MD from Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich in 2005 while completing a medical thesis on cell biological aspects of Alzheimer’s disease. Having discovered her enthusiasm for basic research she then went on to obtain a PhD at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, where she identified a novel chromatin-modifying protein complex in Drosophila. As a postdoc at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA, she studied lncRNAs in the context of heart development, and immediately became fascinated with this new family of molecules. She is now excited to join her alma mater as a member of faculty and looking forward to be part of the vibrant scientific community at SyNergy and the Institute for Metabolic Biochemistry.