Cell Signalling

BIOGRAPHY

ACADEMIC POSITION:
• Professor of Neurobiology
• Director, Neurobiology, IZN, University of Heidelberg

EDUCATION:
1984 MD, MPI for Medical Research, Heidelberg and University of Heidelberg
1985-1989: Postdoctoral fellow, MPI for Molecular Genetics, Berlin
1989-1992: Postdoctoral fellow, Dept of Microbiology and Molcular Genetics, Harvard Medical School, Boston, USA
1993-2001: Group Leader at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, Cambridge, UK
2001: Professor (C4) of Neurobiology; Director, Neurobiology, IZN, University of Heidelberg

AWARDS:
2001 Wolfgang-Paul-Prize of the Alexander von Humboldt-Foundation

RESEARCH INTERESTS:
Synaptic activity-induced changes in the concentration of intracellular calcium control many processes in neurons including gene expression. Calcium signals propagating towards the cell soma and the nucleus are key mediators of synapse-to-nucleus communication. Nuclear calcium controls CREB/CBP-dependent transcription and regulates genomic programs critical for neuronal survival, plasticity, and memory.