ARDRE students
Camille BRUCKER
Research Department for Biomedical Aging Research
Thesis topic: Weight Loss (WL) Target Genes in Adipose Stem Cells (ASCs) from Subcutaneous White Adipose Tissue
Description »
Weight loss (WL) interventions postpone age-related diseases and improve health span in a wide variety of
To find WL target genes, a microarray analysis was performed by the lab to establish the global gene expression pattern in ASCs of calorically restricted formerly obese (WLD), normal weight (NWD) and obese donors (OD). From this screening, it appears that the gene Sushi Domain Containing 2 (SUSD2) is upregulated after WL in ASCs of WLD compared to NWD and OD. As a consequence, the goal of the project is to study the function of SUSD2 in ASCs. The hypothesis is that the downregulation of SUSD2 in ASCs induce hyper-activation of mitogenic pathway which leads to premature senescence of ASCs. To address this hypothesis, genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic technologies, modern techniques of molecular and cell biology will be employed.
Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Werner ZWERSCHKE
Cornelia FÖRDERER
Department of Botany
Thesis topic: The life cycle of Arabidopsis thaliana - Metabolic changes from seed germination to plant senescence
Description »
Seeds are the basis of agriculture and conservation. A €30 billion industry relies on storage of seed prior to their use for human and animal nutrition as well as later use for reproducing new plants. Although “orthodox” (desiccation tolerant) seeds can be stored long-term, they deteriorate over time. The mechanisms of seed ageing are not fully understood, but evidence is emerging that the processes that lead to seed death depend on oxygen concentration and molecular mobility. My PhD project is intended to elucidate the underlying mechanisms of seed and plant ageing. We hypothesize that “dry” seeds die due to random damage of macromolecules by oxidative damage, whereas programmed cell death (PCD) contributes to seed death as the cytoplasm becomes more fluid upon water uptake. The overall aim is to investigate the molecular mechanisms of ageing over the entire lifecycle of Arabidopsis, from seed germination to seedling establishment to leaf senescence.
Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Ilse KRANNER
Lena GUERRERO NAVARRO
Research Department for Biomedical Aging Research
Thesis topic: Skin aging and mitochondrial metabolism
Description »
Supervisor: Univ. Prof. Dr. Pidder JANSEN-DÜRR
Lucas HENSEN
Department of Biochemistry
Thesis topic: Metabolic signaling drives ageing
Description »
Lucas enrolled in the ARDRE program under the supervision of Prof. Thedieck to combine theoretical and experimental approaches in exploring the interplay of mTOR signaling with energy metabolism and neuronal function in the context of ageing.
Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Kathrin THEDIECK
Marion LECHABLE
Department of Zoology
Thesis topic: cWnt-Myc signaling in stem cell decision making and regeneration
Description »
The team is working on the hydrozoan freshwater polyp Hydra, which is part of Cnidarians as a sister-group of Bilateria. Hydra is a powerful model in biology for axial patterning, regeneration studies and stem cell biology, and allows us to understand ancestral mechanisms diverged from early metazoans. This polyp reproduces asexually and has a
strong regeneration ability thanks to a hydrozoan-specific multipotent stem cell population, called the interstitial stem cells. Dynamic of this stem cell population is very constant in terms of cell proliferation, movement and proportions of cell type during asexual reproduction. Stem cell decision-making in this simple model raise an interest in the scientific community to understand the underlying genetic regulation system. Two core regulators of stem cells are the Wnt/ β-Catenin signalling pathway and the Myc oncogene, which are both highly conserved through evolution. The PhD project will aim to decipher these regulation mechanisms at cellular and molecular level in Hydra. In a first part, we want to establish Myc mutants by genetic interference, with Knock-down (siRNA) and Knock-out (CRISPR/Cas9) methods, or establish long-term and stable transgenic lines, in order to interfere with Myc. In a second part, we will use these successful Myc-inhibited Hydra and take advantage of transgenic β-Catenin over-expressing Hydra to decipher stem-cell regulation. The cell cycle and dynamics of interstitial stem cells will be analysed. Then, we will analyse at the molecular level by using transcriptomic analysis at single cell resolution. Finally, we want to extend this work depending on the result to decipher the molecular network and stem cells dynamics which control the decision making. We expect to collaborate with other ARDRE PhD candidates about related topics like repressive mechanisms of TCF/ β-Catenin or mitochondria dysfunction in ageing Hydra.
Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Bert Hobmayer
Alessandro PENNATI
Department of Zoology
Thesis topic: Repressive signalling effectors in stemness and lineage segregation in tunicates
Description »
The activation of Wnt signalling is of central role in the pluripotency context. The Wnt pathway is present in almost all animals from sponges to human. It is well conserved evolutionary and plays important roles in the activation of target genes in a variety of cellular processes, such as cell proliferation, axis formation, embryonic patterning, organ development and stem cell renewal. Novel repressive functions of its nuclear effectors influencing gene expression and cell fate choice were discovered by the host lab in Ciona intestinalis, where Tcf and its cofactor β-catenin can directly repress the gata.a binding activity at GATA sites. More recently, a mechanistic model was suggested where Tcf7/β-catenin repress the gata.a transcriptional activity by preventing gata.a from binding to its site through the formation of a ternary complex, but several questions remain open to discussion. We hypothesize that Tcf alone can bind GATA sites independently of βcatenin and that a GATA site signature likely determines diverse degrees of repression translating into a fine tuning for tissue specific expression levels at the various GATA target genes in different regions of the embryo. Such signature may be determined by overlapping incomplete Tcf sites resulting in the masking of the GATA sites by Tcf to weaken the gata.a binding strength. The aims of this project are to refine the repressive signature of Tcf/βcatenin on different GATA sites by correlating the GATA signature with known activities of target genes. To test the repressive mechanism in other contexts in Ciona and to define a possible conservation in stemness in other species, we will isolate and analyse cis-regulatory regions of ß-catenin/Tcf repressed target genes in the Ciona context and probe for a conserved biochemical interaction between the Wnt nuclear effectors and to target DNA.
Supervisor: Assoz. Prof. Dr. Ute Rothbächer
Nargess SHAHBAZI
Department of Molecular Biology
Thesis topic: Analyses of facultative stem cells in the zebrafish pancreas
Description »
Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Dirk MEYER
Angeliki SPATHOPOULOU
Department of Molecular Biology
Thesis topic: Analyzing reprogramming trajectories of direct conversion of human fibroblasts into iNSCs for studying neural regeneration and neurodevelopmental disorders
In this project, we will study the regeneration processes of the adult human brain by deploying a novel approach of direct conversion of human fibroblasts into induced NSCs (iNSCs), which allows the (partial) maintenance of the ageing profile of the cells. The reprogramming trajectories will be studied over time at single cell level, assessing the transcriptomic and epigenetic profile of the cells. This experimental design will lead to valuable knowledge into stem cell reprogramming in the human brain and allow the establishment of a rejuvenation/ reprogramming cell atlas. A second aim of the project will be to decipher the molecular mechanisms that are involved in age-dependent changes in regeneration and the potential pathological mechanisms leading to neurodegenerative disorders. For that, the ageing profiles of iNSCs will be compared to profiles of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), iPSC- derived NSCs and their parental fibroblasts. For this purpose, single-cell age-related DNA methylation signatures will be analyzed and compared between the groups. In order to answer these complex scientific questions, state-of-the-art technologies are going to be employed. The innovative method of direct conversion of adult differentiated cells into iNSCs and induced Neurons (iNs) will be used and subsequently a serial combinatorial cell-indexing approach (CellTagging) will be performed, followed by single cell transcriptomics (high-throughput droplet microfluidics, scRNA-seq), high resolution lineage analysis, DNA methylation ageing analysis as well as neuronal functionality assays.
Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Frank EDENHOFER
Aldo TANCREDI
Department of Organic Chemistry
Thesis topic: Chemical Synthesis of Xenicin Natural Products
Coming soon!
Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Thomas Magauer
Xuechen TANG
Department of General, Inorganic and Theoretical Chemistry
Thesis topic: Functional mutations of voltage-gated calcium channels
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Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. DDr. Klaus R. LIEDL

Ferenc TÖRÖK
Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology
Thesis topic: Biology of calcium-gated channels (BVC)
Coming soon!
Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jörg STRIESSNIG
Eduardo VILLICAÑA-GONZÁLEZ
Department of Pharmacy
Thesis topic: Cultivation, phytochemical characterization, and in vitro gastro-intestinal catabolism of secondary metabolites of edible and /or pharmacological relevant lichen species with a special focus on Cetraria islandica.
Description »
Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Mag. Dr. Hermann STUPPNER
Associated member

Department of Pharmacology & Toxicology
Thesis topic: Biology of calcium-gated channels (BVC)
Supervisor: Univ.-Prof. Dr. Jörg Striessnig
Funding
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 847681.