Alumni

  2005 PhD in Pharmacology, Goethe University Frankfurt 2005 Postdoctoral Fellow, Pharmacology, Goethe University Frankfurt and Department of Neurobiology, University of Alabama, Birmingham/USA 2011 Professor, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg 2017 Professor, Pharmacology & Toxicology, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz

Research focus

Research in my group aims to understand the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric diseases e.g. mood disorders and Alzheimer disease with a focus on ion channels and mitochondria. In addition, we aim to develop new pharmacological therapies for these diseases.

Project

Interaction of ASM/ceramide system and TRPC6 channels and its role in plasticity and depression-like behavior

  2008 MD, University of Cologne and Case Western Reserve University, OH, USA 2011 Habilitation in Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Cologne 2013 W2 professor at the Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Würzburg 2015 Visiting professor at the Department of Neurology and Neurol. Sciences, Stanford School of Medicine, USA 2011 W3 professor and director at the Institute of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Friedrich-Alexander Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg

Research focus

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disorder of the central nervous system (CNS) and the most frequent neurological disease in young adults, leading to irreversible clinical deficits and premature retirement. On the one hand, my group focuses on the contribution of B cells and autoantibodies to the immunopathology of MS. Next to understanding the mechanisms of B cell-driven disease, we aim to develop novel therapeutic options and biomarkers for patients with MS. On the other hand, we are concerned with developing strategies to promote neuroregeneration and remyelination in the CNS.

Project

Induction of CNS remyelination by modulation of the crosstalk between astrocytes and the oligodendrocyte lineage

1999 MD, University of Freiburg (Breisgau) 2007 Specialization in Neurology at the University Hospitals in Würzburg, Göttingen and Bochum 2008 Head of the Neuroimmunology Laboratory, Department of Neurology, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg 2010 Head of the Neuroimmunology Section, Department of Neurology, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg 2013 Professor for Neuroimmunology, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg 2018 Chair of Neurology, University Hospital Regensburg

Research focus

My continuing scientific interests include neurodegeneration and neuroprotection as well as glial cells in MS, and mechanisms of action of new immunotherapies.

Project

Role of the transcription factors Sox8 and Sox10 in susceptibility and repair in demyelinating diseases

2008 PhD, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt/Main, and FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg 2008 University Assistant, Department of Biology, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg 2014 Habilitation in Zoology, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg 2014 Group Leader, Department of Biology, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg 2018 HTA Writing Expert, Novartis, Nürnberg

Former research focus

The research of the Brandstätter and Regus-Leidig group focuses on molecules and mechanisms that play a role in the development and the structural and functional organization of chemical synapses in the CNS with a special focus on the retina. In our experimental approach, we combine methods ranging from immunocytochemistry and light- and electron microscopical imaging to biochemistry, cell and molecular biology, and electrophysiology. As synaptophathies = malfunctioning synapses are a reason for many neurodegenerative diseases and neurological disorders, the aim of our research is to contribute to a better understanding of synapse function in health and disease.

Former project

Examining the synaptogenesis and synapse maintenance factor Bassoon as a putative factor for the differential sensitivity of photoreceptors to late-onset degeneration

2003 MD, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nürnberg 2004 Clinical geneticist and research fellow, Institute of Human Genetics, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg 2009 Guest Scientist, Radboud University Nijmegen 2009 Group leader, Institute of Human Genetics, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg 2012 Specialisation in Human Genetics 2013 Habilitation in Human Genetics, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg 2018 Professor of Human Genetics, FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg 2020 Professor of Human Genetics and Director of the Institute of Human Genetics at the Inselspital Bern, Switzerland

Research focus

Intellectual disability (ID) as a neurodevelopmental disorder is clinically and genetically extremely heterogeneous, and the number of underlying genes is still largely incomplete. Though recent studies have indicated that convergent molecular pathways underlie common phenotypic aspects, a comprehensive and systematic understanding of ID disorders and their underlying biology is still limited. My group focuses on the clinical, genetic and functional characterization of ID disorders. Apart from phenotypic delineation of new disease entities, we aim to identify novel ID genes and to subsequently characterize their function and interaction with other ID genes/proteins in common pathways and networks.

Project

Role of chromatin interacting and intellectual disability (ID) genes in neurodevelopment