My main research interests are the physical principles and molecular mechanisms determining biomolecular function. A particular focus are intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). At variance with the classical structurefunction paradigm that we are familiar with from 50 years of structural biology, IDPs lack a persistent structure but, nevertheless, participate in many biological processes such as transcription, translation and signal transduction. In my work, I combine fluorescence single-molecule spectroscopy with concepts from polymer physics to explain fundamental properties of IDPs. I am interested in expanding the scope of single-molecule and correlation methods to investigate the role of disordered proteins in vivo, especially within RNA granules, non-membrane bound organelles that play a key-role in the spatial and temporal regulation of RNA, and whose malfunctioning has been linked to infertilities, cancer, and neurodegenerative diseases. A long-term goal will be to bridge the gap between detailed molecular understanding and cellular and organismic processes.

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