Mitochondria are crucial and essential components of an eukaryotic cell. They generate the major part of cellular ATP, are involved in many biosynthetic reactions but also contribute to important signaling processes like apoptosis.

Maintenance of protein amount and activity ("protein homoeostasis") in mitochondria under normal and pathological conditions is a crucial process for the survival of the whole cell. Problems in mitochondrial functions have been implicated in important human diseases ranging from aging, neurodegenerative diseases to cancer and arteriosclerosis.

Research in my group at the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology of the University of Bonn is centered on the determination of the molecular mechanisms mitochondrial protein homoeostasis. We are mainly interested in the characterization of the mitochondrial quality control system, consisting of a cooperative network of chaperone and protease proteins that is responsible for (read more)...

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