Research Summary Division of Biological Chemistry, Biocenter, Innsbruck Medical University
Research in the division is organized in five research groups, led by senior investigators who conduct basic research with focus on topics of medical importance. A historically developed field of research centers on pteridine metabolism (Dietmar Fuchs, Georg Golderer, Ernst R. Werner, Gabriele Werner-Felmayer). Pteridines include a number of compounds that have been implicated in the prognosis of a variety of pathologies including cardiovascular disorders, post traumatic diseases, HIV infection, allograft transplantations and several types of cancers. This research has led to a variety of assays and protocols that are now widely used in medical diagnostics and quality control (>> see details on pteridine research).
With the arrival of the new director's group (Klaus Scheffzek) the research profile of the institute has expanded to intracellular signal transduction and its regulation with focus on the effects of genetic alterations of contributing components. Having solved important regulatory mechanisms earlier the group is focusing on signal transduction and disease proteins. A major research focus is on Neurofibromatosis type 1, a common genetic disease with complex pathology.
The methods spectrum covers biochemical techniques including FPLC/HPLC for preparative protein purification and analysis, eukaryotic cell culture, various biophysical methods and X-ray crystallography.
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