Dr. Aldino Viegas, a postdoctoral researcher in the research group of Dr. Manuel Etzkorn at the Institut für Physikalische Biologie, was recently awarded a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Individual Fellowship. The internationally highly competitive and prestigious fellowship is funded with 159 000 Euro by the European Commission.
The funded project aims to elucidate the molecular details underlying the interaction of the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), with its only known cytoplasmic modulator, the so called cytohesins. EGFR is a key regulator in cancers cells. A better understanding of the mechanisms that modulate its function could enable the design of novel therapeutic strategies against cancer.
The fellowship has a duration of two years (2015-2017) and it is expected to provide structural information that contributes to the discovery of novel therapeutic agents to fight EGFR-related diseases.
"Due to the excellent equipment and scientific expertise the Institute of Physical Biology of the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf offers the perfect environment to carry out the planned research", says Dr. Viegas. A major part of the research will be carried out at the Biomolecular NMR Center, which is jointly run by the Institut für Physikalische Biologie and the Institute of Complex Systems (ICS-6) at the Forschungszentrum Jülich. The center is headed by the director of both institutes, Prof. Dieter Willbold. As one of the leading NMR centers in Germany, it operates various high-field NMR spectrometers that enable the analysis of structures and dynamics of biomolecules. In addition, the project will benefit from strong collaborations with the group of Prof. Michael Famulok (Research Center Caesar and University of Bonn) as well as with Dr. Wolfgang Bermel (Bruker BioSpin GmbH).
 
Contact:
Dr. Manuel Etzkorn
Institut für Physikalische Biologie
Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf
Tel.: +49-(0)211 81 12023
Email:

Link:
Emmy Noether Research Group: Time-optimized NMR spectroscopy for the investigation of challenging biological systems