Consortium Team

Peter Dittrich

Peter is leading the bio systems analysis group at the Friedrich Schiller University of Jena, Department of Mathematics and Computer Science (homepage). His group is also a member of the Jena Centre for Bioinformatics.

Area of Research

• Systems analysis and systems theory
• Simulation and modeling of complex systems
• Chemoinformatics, bioinformatics and computational systems biology
• Unconventional computing
• Information processing in natural systems
• Biologically inspired systems design
• Pervasive and organic computing
• Foundation of structural sciences and their applications in the life and social sciences

Alba Diz-Muñoz

The Diz-Muñoz group studies the crosstalk between mechanical properties of the cell surface and the extracellular environment and intracellular signalling processes that drive morphogenesis and fate in animal cells. Primary interest lies in understanding the reciprocal interactions between physical forces and cellular signalling cascades, with special focus on the mechanics of the cell surface and the adjacent extracellular environment:

How does membrane tension and in particular MCA control the cell surface and how it influences downstream biochemical signalling?
How does membrane curvature control behaviour, and is it used by cells to read out their membrane tension?
How do extracellular physical properties couple to cell surface mechanics and cell behaviour?

To investigate these aspects, we develop and apply multiscale and multidisciplinary approaches to precisely quantify and modulate membrane mechanics in an acute manner. This toolbox includes the use of optogenetics, TIRF microscopy, two-photon imaging, FRET sensors, Brillouin and atomic force microscopy, and multi-omics analyses such as proteomics and lipidomics. Using this toolbox, we gain novel mechanistic insights into how membrane tension and tissue elasticity affect cellular signalling and fate specification during morphogenic processes.

Rolf Fagerberg

Rolf is in general interested in problems within algorithmics. Specific topics so far include algorithms and data structures for external memory, in particular of the cache-oblivious kind, algorithms for problems in bioinformatics, and fundamental data structures such as search trees, priority queue structures, and graph representations. Recently also algorithmic, combinatorical, and complexity related questions from cheminformatics.

Christoph Flamm

Christoph’s subject areas include Computer Science • Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology • Mathematics • Chemistry • Agricultural and Biological Sciences • Chemical Engineering • Physics and Astronomy • Engineering • Medicine • Materials Science • Immunology and Microbiology • Social Sciences • Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics

Thomas Gärtner

Thomas’ main research interests are efficient and effective machine learning and data mining algorithms. His recent focus is on challenges relevant to the constructive machine learning setting where the task is to find domain instances with desired properties and the mapping between instances and their properties is only partially accessible. This includes structured output prediction, active learning/search, online learning/optimisation, knowledge-based learning and related areas. He is most interested in cases of this setting where at least one of the involved spaces is not a Euclidean space such as the set of graphs. His approach in many cases is based on kernel methods where he has focussed originally on kernels for structured data, moved to semi-supervised/transductive learning, and am currently looking at parallel/distributed approaches as well as fast approximations.

Peter Stadler

Peter completed his studies of Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics, and Astronomy at the University of Vienna (Austria) Undergratuate degrees (1.Diploma) in Chemistry (1986), Astronomy (1988), Physics (1989), and Mathematics, (1990). Graduate degrees: Mag.rer.nat. (Masters Degree) 1988 in Chemistry, Dr.rer.nat. (PhD Degree) 1990. After completing a Postdoc with Prof. Manfred Eigen at the Max Planck Insitute for Biophysical Chemistry (Karl Friedrich Bonhoeffer Institute) Göttingen, Germany, 1990-1991, he became an Assistant Professor of Theoretical Chemistry at the University of Vienna until 1997. Next, Peter was “Ausserordendlicher Universitätsprofessor” (Ao.Univ.-Prof.) at the University of Vienna until 2002, when he became Professor für Bioinformatik at the University of Leipzig, Germany, a position he has held since Sept. 2002.

Annette Taylor

Annette obtained a BSc and PhD from Physical Chemistry at the University of Leeds and was later RCUK Fellow, then Senior Lecturer, before taking a position in Chemical and Biological Engineering at the University of Sheffield in 2014. During her time at Leeds she also held Visiting Researcher positions with collaborators in the USA. Her research involves combining chemical kinetics and mass transport with applications in materials science and biological processes.