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The Consortium and Contacts

The illustration shows the name and logo of MiNu plus the eleven Principal Investigators and project heads.
Illustration: Katharina Höfer

Nucleotides play central roles in all domains of life, be it as major carriers for chemical energy, as triggers for protein-switches, secondary messengers and regulators of transcription, translation and protein function and as information storage in the form of DNA or messenger RNA. Equally important is their role as modulators of protein activity and RNA function. Thus, nucleotides and their metabolism are at the functional heart of living cells, and the underlying mechanistic principles are universally conserved.

We will train scientists who have a fundamental understanding of nucleotide metabolism and are trained in the state- of-the-art technologies to investigate and, by means of synthetic or chemical biology, engineer nucleotides. The strong expertise of the consortium in complementary research areas, the wide variety of microbial systems and the enormous technological spectrum centering around genetics, structural biology, biochemistry, microbiology, bioinformatics and synthetic/chemical biology, will make it possible to conduct highly visible research and promote a new generation of comprehensively educated scientists that are employable in a broad range of research fields in the future. Our team of PIs includes experienced and internationally widely visible and well-connected scientists as well as several early-career scientists at different stages of independence.

Altogether, MiNu has assembled a dynamic, organically grown team of highly skilled PIs, well-balanced in career stages and gender distribution, who are extremely motivated to offer the best doctoral training program for the next-generation of researchers.

Go to the section Research Areas and Projects for information on the MiNu projects and the doctoral researchers.

Project and science contacts

Project 1                              Prof. Dr. Gert Bange (University of Marburg)
Project 2                              Prof. Dr. Anke Becker (University of Marburg)
Project 3                              Dr. Marcus Lechner (University of Marburg)
Project 4                              Dr. Jan Michael Schuller (University of Marburg)
Project 5                               Prof. Dr. Lars-Oliver Essen (University of Marburg)
Project 6                               Dr. Katharina Höfer (Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology, Marburg)
Project 7                               Prof. Dr. Lennart Randau (University of Marburg)
Project 8                               Prof. Dr. Martin Thanbichler (University of Marburg)
Project 9                               Dr. Patricia Bedrunka (University of Marburg)
Project 10                             Prof. Dr. Peter Graumann (University of Marburg)
Project 11                             Prof. Dr. Olalla Vázquez (University of Marburg)

Mercator Fellow                 Prof. Jade Wang, Ph.D. (University of Wisconsin/Madison)

 

 Administrative contacts

Spokesperson                     Prof. Dr. Peter Graumann
Deputy Spokesperson     Dr. Katharina Höfer
Scientific Coordinator      Mag. Antje Becker
Alumni affairs                      Prof. Dr. Lars-Oliver Essen