Anja Niehoff Elected to DFG-"Fachkollegium" 2024
Congratulations to our PI Anja Niehoff on being elected member of the DFG-"Fachkollegium" 2024 and many thanks to our PI Thomas Pap for supporting the "Fachkollegium" in the last period from 2019 to 2023!
Cologne Center for Genetic Skin and Connective Tissue Disorders Joins Ehlers-Danlos Society's Centers and Networks of Excellence Program in 2023
In 2023, the Cologne Center for Genetic Skin and Connective Tissue Disorders became a member of the newly established Ehlers-Danlos Society Centers and Networks of Excellence Program (EDS CNE). The Center is a subcenter of the Cologne University Center for Rare Diseases and offers an interdisciplinary care for children and adults with Ehlers-Danlos-Syndromes.
The goal is to improve the clinical care for the German Ehlers-Danlos patients and together with the FOR2722 Musculoskeletal Extracellular Research Group to create a translational platform for studying these rare disorders.
Congratulations to Kristina Bubb on the successful defense of her doctoral thesis with honors!
Congratulations to Kristina Bubb on the successful defense of her doctoral thesis with the topic "Crosstalk between mitochondrial respiratory chain, metabolic signaling, and cartilage homeostasis" with distinction! We are extremely grateful for her outstanding work over the past years and wish her much success on her future journey.
New publication from the research unit
Congratulations on the outstanding collaboration between projects B2 and M1 in their analysis of joint hyperlaxity in mice and human patients with collagen XII deficiency. Ablation of collagen XII disturbs joint extracellular matrix organization and causes patellar subluxation
New publication from the research unit
Julia Etich, Mirko Rehberg and colleagues provide evidence based on clinical, genetic, and cellular data to corroborate the role of TAPT1 as a novel OI-causing gene and highlight a novel disease-relevant link between OI, ECM, and signaling. "TAPT1—at the crossroads of extracellular matrix and signaling in Osteogenesis imperfecta"
New publication from the research unit
Manuel Koch and other collaborators have published a new article with the title:
"Distinct myofibre domains of the human myotendinous junction revealed by single-nucleus RNA sequencing"
FOR2722 Seminar Series with Prof. Véronique Lefebvre Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
FOR2722 Seminar Series Get-together: Prof. Véronique Lefebvre (Translational Research Program in Pediatric Orthopaedics, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia) in discussion with junior PhD students after her successful presentation. An opportunity for professional exchange and networking.
Travel award for Alice Stephan
Alice Stephan from project D2 has been awarded with a travel grant from the ISMB. Alice will present her research at the GRC "Cartilage Biology and Pathology" meeting 19-24 March 2023 in Lucca.
Congratulations Alice!
New publication from the research unit
Together with collaborators from Denmark, Manuel Koch has published a new article with the title:
"Larger interface area at the human myotendinous junction in type 1 compared with type 2 muscle fibers"
New publikation from the research unit
Gerhard Sengle and other collaborators have published the new article titled:
"Fibrillin microfibril structure identifies long-range effects of inherited pathogenic mutations affecting a key regulatory latent TGFβ-binding site"
New publikation from the research unit
Together with the group of Manuel Koch, Gerhard sengle has published a new paper with the title:
Targeting of bone morphogenetic protein complexes to heparin/heparan sulfate glycosaminoglycans in bioactive conformation.
PhD positions available within projects B1 and B2
Kristina Bubb awarded with Travel Grant
Kristina Bubb has been rewarded with a travel grant from IUBMB for a short research stay at the Weizmann Institute in Rehovot and participation in the international conference “ISF Workshop on Mitochondria: past and present”.
Congratulations Kristina!
PhD positions available within the Research Unit
The Research Unit has 17 PhD Positions availabel.
Here you can read more about the position and apply
New publication from the research unit
Together with the Wagener, Paulsson, Schiavinato and Niehoff groups, Gerhard Sengle has published a new paper with the title:
"EMILIN1 deficiency causes arterial tortuosity with osteopenia and connects impaired elastogenesis with defective collagen fibrillogenesis"
PhD Position in Demetriades Lab
Project D3, Demetriades - Nüchel has an open PhD position.
Here you can read more about the position and apply.
New publication
New paper by Matthias Przyklenk, Alvise Schiavinato, Raimund Wagener in an collaboration with other groups form FOR2722 entitled "Lack of evidence for a role of anthrax toxin receptors as surface receptors for collagen VI and for its cleaved-off C5 domain"
Julian Nüchel wins award
Congratulations to Julian Nüchel for winning the Dick Heinegård Young Investigator Award at Matrix Biology Europe 2022. Well done Julian!
Young Investigator Award to Daniela Mählich
Congratulations to Daniela Mählich from the Niehoff lab on being awarded the “Young Investigator Award” from the German Society for Biomechanics with her project “The influence of plastin 3 on mechanotransduction in articular cartilage”. Well done Daniela!
Seminar with Thorsten Hoppe
Impressions from the latest FOR2722 Seminar where Thorsten Hoppe from the Institute of Genetics and CECAD at the University of Cologne inspired us all with his exciting talk about protein homeostasis and aging. It was wonderful to meet again in person and discuss science.
Mats Paulsson receives his honorary doctorate at the conferment ceremony in Oulu
On May 28th, Mats Paulsson received his honorary doctoral degree at the conferment ceremony at University of Oulu for his long-time commitment and outstanding work on the extracellular matrix. Congratulations Mats! Here are a few Impressions from the ceremony.
The German Research Council (DFG) has extended the research unit for a 2. funding period. We are extremely happy about the acknowledgement of our research and are looking forward to expand our knowledge on the biology of the extracellular matrix and musculoskeletal diseases. We thank everyone involved in the Research Unit for their hard work and dedication.
New Publication - Project B1
LTBP1 promotes fibrillin incorporation into the extracellular matrix
New Publication - Project M1
Ablation of the miRNA cluster 24 in cartilage and osteoblasts impairs bone remodeling.
New Publication - Project M2
New Publication- Project M2/C2
New publication by project M1
Bent Brachvogel's group identifies the mitochondrial respiratory chain as a new therapeutic target for treating a defective extracellular matrix in degenerative cartilage disease:
Dysfunction in the mitochondrial respiration leads to cartilage degenerative diseases
Mitochondrial respiratory chain function promotes extracellular matrix integrity in cartilage
Interview with Honorary Doctor Mats Paulsson
Please visit University of Oulu's official Spotify channel
New publication by project D1
The research unit FOR2722 congratulates Prof. Brunhilde Wirth for her outstanding detective work in science.
VWA1 identified as a new disease gene for neuromyopathy: An ancestral 10-bp repeat expansion in VWA1 causes recessive hereditary motor neuropathy
New publication by projects B1 and D2
New publication by project D2
New publication by project D2
New specific HSP47 functions in collagen subfamily chaperoning
New publication by project B1
Novel structure-function relationships of myopathy patient mutations in collagen VI identified by Mats Paulsson and Raimund Wagner of the Research Unit. Results shed light on possible myopathy mechanisms.
New publication by project D2:
New publication by project D1:
The University of Oulu will confer an honorary doctorate to FOR2722 member Prof. Mats Paulsson
The research unit FOR2722 congratulates Prof. Mats Paulsson for receiving the honorary degree of the University of Oulu.
New publications by project D2:
Autosomal-Recessive Mutations in MESD Cause Osteogenesis Imperfecta
New publication by project B1:
This article has been recommended in F1000Prime as being of special significance in its field by F1000 Faculty Member Peter Torzilli.
FOR2722 member Prof Dr. Brunhilde Wirth receives the NRW-Innovation prize 2019
The state government of North Rhine-Westphalia awarded the NRW-Innovation prize 2019 to Prof. Dr. Brunhilde Wirth for her groundbreaking research on spinal muscular dystrophy.
The research unit FOR2722 congratulates Prof. Dr. Brunhilde Wirth and wishes her every success for her future research.