Each cell of a multicellular organism contains the entire genetic code for that organism, but not all of those genes are active in every cell. The regulation of gene expression gives rise to different cell types with specialized functions and controls organismal development. Even after a gene has been transcribed, its expression can be regulated by a variety of mechanisms at the level of the transcript or the protein product itself. At the post-transcriptional level, the control of RNA fate and function is an important layer of gene regulation. The Ameres Lab studies the role of RNA and its modifications in this regulation and how aberrant gene expression contributes to human disease.
Stefan, you first joined the Max Perutz Labs, for your PhD studies, at a time when the institute was newly founded. Now, over a decade later, you have returned as a group leader and professor. What´s it like to now be among the “seniors”?
Well, obviously time is flying and I guess it makes me realize that I’m getting old. But beyond that I’m of course very happy about the opportunity to be able to return to the Max Perutz Labs in my new position. I certainly have great memories from my time here as a PhD student. I am particularly excited about the possibility to provide to the younger generation the support and mentorship that I enjoyed in the past here at the Perutz. Particularly, I am really looking forward to many scientific interactions with my colleagues and I hope that in the future we will be able to further contribute to the established status of Vienna as a hotspot for RNA research in Europe and beyond.
If you look back even further, when and why did you decide to become a researcher?
I think that my interest in understanding molecular mechanisms in biology was somehow rooted in my upbringing. My father was an entrepreneur in the engineering field, and I frequently helped out to put machines together. My mother was working as a nurse in a children’s hospital. I guess that this somehow set the basis and the boundaries for my interest in later on systematically trying to dissect molecular machines in a biomedical research setting. But of course, on the way there, there were many influential teachers, lecturers, mentors and colleagues that had an immense impact on my passion for science.
I noticed the guitar in your office so I wondered if music was a career you ever considered?
[laughs] Well early on, sure, but then recognizing my limitations made me choose wisely on my future career. But it’s certainly still a hobby that I have and looking back to my PhD times – I think it was a great time to assemble a band of PhD students and even play on the roof of the Perutz Labs, so those are great memories. And maybe who knows if there will be a chance in the future to assemble a couple of colleagues to revive this.
Let’s talk about your research: you did your PhD in the Lab of Renee Schroeder, an expert in RNA biology and now you are focused on the role of RNA modifications in the regulation of RNA fate and function. What fascinates you about RNA?
RNA in one form or another impacts every process in a cell and this is possible because RNA carries out a very broad range of functions. These range from transmitting the genetic information that codes for molecular machines and the structural building blocks of the cell, to the regulation of gene expression during development, cellular differentiation, and in the reaction to changing environments. These broad functions are rooted in the fact that life on earth may have begun with a simple RNA molecule – this is what the ‘RNA world’ hypothesis suggests. RNA combines the ability to both store genetic information like DNA, and drive chemical reactions like proteins. Many of these versatile functions are still found in current biological systems. And in that way one can really refer to RNA as the central molecule of life and, as such, it has surprised many generations of scientists and will continue to do so.
If we focus on the curiosity driven, basic research part – what do you think are the big open questions in your field?
In contrast to what is frequently portrayed as a static picture that many assays provide when inspecting gene expression, the process is actually a highly dynamic interplay of many steps from RNA synthesis to decay. I think that one of the major challenges is to develop tools that allow us to monitor and measure such highly dynamic processes inside living cells. What we do is we really try to develop and employ novel technologies, such as SLAMseq, that allow us to produce molecular movies of gene expression rather than static images with the goal to capture and quantitate such dynamic processes. And with such assays in hand we are really trying to uncover and dissect fundamental biological processes that control gene expression.
Thinking back to when you did your PhD here at the Perutz and with the experience of more than eight years as a group leader, what would you do differently and what is your advice to students?
Honestly, I am not sure I would do many things entirely different, which certainly does not mean I have made no mistakes – I certainly made many of those. I feel I have learned a lot from my mistakes. My advice to students would be to be really courageous and not fearful of what the future may bring. I think this is probably one of the best times to do science, with endless possibilities. While I acknowledge that competition is very high, particularly in the academic setting, I would say that as long as you do what you are really passionate about and what really fascinates you, there will almost certainly be a path forward.
Read more about the Ameres Lab.
From planarians to parasites: unexpected roles for monoamine transmitters
Speaker: Phil NewmarkInstitute: University of Wisconsin-MadisonHost: Elly Tanaka
Title to be announced
Speaker: Jim NaismithInstitute: The Rosalind Franklin Institute, OxfordshireHost: David Haselbach
The Birth and Death of Macromolecular Complexes in Eukaryotic Evolution
Speaker: Berend SnelInstitute: Utrecht UniversityHost: Fred Berger
Probing chromosome mechanics in the interphase nucleus
Speaker: Antoine CoulonInstitute: Institut CurieHost: Anton Goloborodko and Daniel Gerlich
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: JONASSON Mattias (Tanaka), HOHMANN Ulrich (Brennecke/Plaschka), MANOLOVA Toni (Falk)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
The Earth BioGenome Project: Progress Toward a New Synthesis in Evolution Science
Speaker: Harris LewinInstitute: UC DavisHost: Darrin Schultz and Oleg Simakov
Is cohesin necessary for transcription? Molecular entities of transcriptional dysregulation in the absence of cohesin revealed by analysis of transcription elongation complexes
Speaker: Katsuhiko ShirahigeInstitute: Karolinska InstituteHost: Franz Klein
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: WU Shuangyang (Dolan), SCARAMUZZA Federico (Tessmar), KROGULL Daniel (Burga)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
The recently discovered ties between teeth and infants in human evolution
Speaker: Leslea HluskoInstitute: CENIEHHost: Nicole Grunstra
Characterisation of Vpr1, a novel protein involved in DSB repair
Speaker: Mustafa AlaaboInstitute: Dept. Chromosome Biology, Univ. ViennaHost: Franz Klein
Title to be announced
Speaker: Roberto CerbinoInstitute: University of ViennaHost: Arthur Sedivy
Marine symbioses fueled by wood
Speaker: Dan DistelInstitute: Ocean Genome Legacy CenterHost: Jillian Petersen
New insights in gene regulation and chromatin folding by enhancers and cohesin
Speaker: Wouter de LaatInstitute: Hubrecht InstituteHost: Christa Bücker
Molecular mechanism analysis involved in mitochondrial sheath formation and spermiation processes using gene-manipulated mice
Speaker: Keisuke ShimadaInstitute: Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka UniversityHost: Andrea Pauli
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: JELENIC Stela (Saha), ABDRAKHMANOV Alibek (Dagdas), GALUSKA Philipp (Djinovic)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Christoph KreutzInstitute: University of InnsbruckHost: Georg Kontaxis
Microbial trait-based scaling from single populations to communities with consequences for ecosystem processes
Speaker: Ashish MalikInstitute: University of AberdeenHost: Andreas Richter
How chromosome architecture shapes brain architecture
Speaker: Daniele CanzioInstitute: UCSFHost: Anton Goloborodko
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: MAYER Rupert (Proteomics Tech Hub), WILLIAMS Thomas (Clausen), GEISMANN Maximilian (Balzarotti)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Comprehensive and quantitative characterization of aneuploidy phenotypes
Speaker: Manuela Sophie KollerInstitute: Dept. Chromosome Biology, Univ. ViennaHost: Chris Campbell
Cellular crosstalk in Neurodevelopmental Disorders
Speaker: Silvia CappelloInstitute: MPI of Psychiatry MunichHost: Jürgen Knoblich
Title to be announced
Speaker: Chris OostenbrinkInstitute: BOKU WienHost: Kristina Djinovic-Carugo
Top down and bottom up exploration of human gut microbial communities
Speaker: Karoline FaustInstitute: KU LeuvenHost: Lucia Fuchslueger
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: PACHECO FIALLOS Franics Belen (Plaschka), FONTES OLIVEIRA Tiago Manuel (Penninger)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
The Mirage of Biosocial Complexity: Critique and Collaboration Around the Tools of Epigenetics
Speaker: Luca ChiapperinoInstitute: Institute of Social Sciences (ISS), University of LausanneHost: Vienna Open Lab
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KHALDIEH Nina (Ameres), LORENZO ORTS Laura (Pauli), ROSS James (Burga)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Samer HattarInstitute: NIHHost: Kristin Tessmar
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: RAFFL Gerald (Ameres), SAJTOS Bettina (Zuber), LANGER Christoph (Gerlich)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Anshul KundajeInstitute: Stanford UniversityHost: Alex Stark
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: STEINACKER Thomas (Gerlich), EDER Stephanie (Zimmer), TIKANOVA Polina (Burga)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SCHELLHAAS Ulla (Plaschka/Ameres), RUSCH Emma (Goloborodko), VULIN Milica (Obenauf)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: RADHAKRISHNA PILLAI Balashankar (Saha), MIGOTTI Mario (Konrat), RÖHNSER Josef (Pauli)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: BELL Caelan (Gerlich), MEREITER Stefan (Penninger), BINDL Michael (Leeb)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: LORBEER Franziska (Stark), MULVEY Hugh (Dolan), PÜHRINGER Florian (Burga)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: HOLZER Elisabeth (Martens), COLOZZA Gabriele (Koo), FALCON CHAVEZ Francisco (Tanaka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: BLAHA Andreas (Pauli), OKUN Anastasia (Karagöz), JUNG Pauline (Obenauf)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Sir Philip CohenInstitute: University of DundeeHost: Egon Ogris
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: LICHT-MAYER Simon (Penninger), CAYGILL Samuel (Dolan), ADELMANN Leonie (Raible)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Feng ShaoInstitute: National Institute of Biological Sciences, BeijingHost: Pavel Kovarik
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SHUNMUGAM Dhanlakshmi (Baccarini), CECI GINISTRELLI Lavinia (Mendjan), VORLÄNDER Matthias (Plaschka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Jan LöweInstitute: MRC Laboratory of Molecular BiologyHost: Jan-Michael Peters
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KOK Jian Yi (Berger), GROH Roan (Dagdas), SODERHOLM Adrian (Versteeg)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Stephan GruberInstitute: University of LausanneHost: Franz Klein
Title to be announced
Speaker: Lydia FinleyInstitute: Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer CenterHost: Johannes Zuber
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: STRAVS Ana (Knoblich), SANCHEZ DE MEDINA HERNANDEZ Victor (Dagdas), HORENKAMP Simone (Tanaka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: PROTELL I DE MONTSERRAT Julia (Brennecke/Plaschka), NAGUMO WONG Sakurako (Knoblich), CORIC Aida (Tessmar)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Nancy KlecknerInstitute: Harvard UniversityHost: Franz Klein
Title to be announced
Speaker: Vera Gorbunova and Andrei SeluanovInstitute: University of RochesterHost: EDI group at GMI/IMBA/IMP
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: GRABARCZYK Daniel (Clausen), TAVERINI Katherina (Urban), MANCHENO JUNCOSA Estela (Mendjan)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Edward LemkeInstitute: IMB MainzHost: David Haselbach
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: ATTRILL Sarah (Dolan), UIJTTEWAAL Esther (Elling), SCIBISZ Grzegorz (Karagöz)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: DOLESCHALL Balint (Knoblich), FENG Sonjie (Bücker), BOURGUET Pierre (Berger)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Rotem SorekInstitute: Weizmann Institute of Science, RehovotHost: Julius Brennecke
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KRUMWIEDE Luisa (Gaidt), KAPRAL Thomas (Zagrovic)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KOBAKHIDZE George (Dong), ANGELOPOULOU Eleni (Ellis), PACHANO Tomas (Stark)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Stephan GrillInstitute: MPI of Molecular Cell Biology and GeneticsHost: Clemens Plaschka
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: RAMIREZ America (Köhler), VÖLKL Isabella (Bücker), HOANG Oi Pui (Technau)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Mounia LaghaInstitute: Institut de Genetique Moleculaire de MontpellierHost: Andrea Pauli
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: LEITNER Moritz (Martinez), VOGEL Alexander (Yudushkin), KETTEL Paulina (Karagöz)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Martin HetzerInstitute: IST AustriaHost: Jürgen Knoblich
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: TSAREV Aleksandr (Ameres), FIESELER Charlie (Zimmer), ABESAMIS Kim Ivan (Dong)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Laurent NguyenInstitute: University of LiegeHost: Noelia Urban
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: HEIDARI KHOEI Heidar (Rivron), KLEIFELD Justus (Urban), ORLIC Lucija (Matos)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Ian HicksonInstitute: University of CopenhagenHost: Joao Matos
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SHULKINA Alexandra (Versteeg), GEETHA Sowmya (Jantsch), MADHUSUDHANAN Jalaja (Zimmer)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KOLLER Manuela (Campbell), GUPTA Ankit (Goloborodko), SCHMÖLLERL Johannes (Zuber)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: MARCHIORI Elisa (Van der Veeken), ACHLEITNER Anja (Martens), FAAS Victoria (Clausen)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SALEWSKIJ Kirill (Penninger), KIRCHGATTERER Paul (Gaidt), REN Kaike (Otsuka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: MIHAILOVIC Milica (Karagöz), BELL Lillie (Clausen), TELONI Federico (Gerlich)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: STANKUNAS Edvinas (Köhler), LEV Itamar (Zimmer)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: OBERHUEMER Michael (Leeb), GONAZLEZ ALVARADO Maria (Grade), SCHOLZ Julia (Otsuka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: AMANN Sascha (Haselbach), KASHKO Nataliia (Matos), BAUER Bernd (Martens)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: LEE Joonsun (Elling), LEYVA GONZALEZ Marco (Tanaka), MILIVOJEV Nadja (Raible)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: GAO Peng (Dagdas), GOGOVA Rebeca (Clausen), PAVLOVA Anzhela (Matos)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: AYALA MUNOZ Farja (Plaschka), VETRANO Pamela (Ramundo), YU Changwei (Brennecke)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KONSTANTINOU Andri (Obenauf), NAVA GARCIA Marintia (Dagdas), WOLFF Uyen Le Phuong (Jantsch V.)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: HARTMANN Felix (Matos), PASSERA Alessandro (Balzarotti), SANCHEZ BURGOS Laura (Obenauf)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SILVA Raquel (Foisner), HODAKOVA Zuzana (Haselbach), MYLARSHCHIKOV Dmitry (Gerlich)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Title to be announced
Speaker: Johannes WalterInstitute: Harvard Medical SchoolHost: Jan-Michael Peters
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: PIECH Lucas (Leonard), DE LA CONCEPCION Juan Carlos (Dagdas), POPOVA Mariia (Peters)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: GALLI Lucrezia (Tanaka), DIAS Ana Beatriz (Slade), TAKACS Zsuzsanna (Gerlich)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: KNIEST Judith (Haselbach), KELLNER Max (Penninger), BABADEI Olga (Decker)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: BOHAUMILITZKY Lena (Pinheiro), RAIDERS Stephan (Tanaka), PRLESI Ines (Gerlich)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: ZHAN Ni (Dagdas), PITASI Mattia (Leeb), HEINZL Monika (Stark)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: VELETI Lalitha (Pauli), ENGL Magdalena (Slade), NAAS Julia (Van Haeseler)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: FARAWAY Rupert (Plaschka), GRUNDMANN Lorenz (Haselbach), KLEINWAECHTER Ava (Slade)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: RÖTZER Johannes (Dolan), MIOCIC-STOSIC Fran (Zagrovic), RITSCHKA Birgit (Tanaka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: PUSHPA BOSE Greeshma (Urban), RAINA Shiviya (Dammermann)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: COUTURIER Jeanne (Jachowicz), PABST Gabriel (Zuber), ROFFAY Chloe (Pinheiro)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: RUSSETT Colleen (Berger), NAJM Ramsey (Knoblich), HOLLAUS David (Gaidt)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: SHARMA Sanskriti (Ellis), JANKOWSKA Julia (Ameres), PAPAREDDY Ranjith (Dagdas)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: MAURER Eric (Peters), BHARDWAJ Vishakha (Schlögelhofer), DIEZMA Laura (Nordborg/Mari-Ordonez)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: GUZMAN PEREZ Sebastian (Martinez), LITTLEBOY Jamie (Knoblich), RIABOV Daria (Plaschka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: ZEILER Christina (Kovarik), DOCAVO GARCIA Antonio (Jachowicz), Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: ZMAJKOVIC Jakub (Zuber), DEL CHIARO Alessia (Dagdas), ANTONIOLI Sumire (Leonard)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: HUETTER Christiane (Menche), KRACHT Laura (Knoblich), SANDRU Ana Maria (Baccarini)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: BENEDUM Johannes (Slade), KALIS Robert (Zuber), PATEL Rajvi (Matos)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs
Monday Seminar (Internal)
Speaker: PROTSENKO Liudmila (Brennecke), SHETTY Kavya (Hein), BASSAT Elad (Tanaka)Institute: Open only to IMP/IMBA/GMI/Max Perutz Labs