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Jun 12 2019
09:10

Biochemist Robert Tampé has been elected to the European Molecular Biology Organization EMBO

Specialist in immune research distinguished

FRANKFURT. Professor Robert Tampé, Director of the Institute of Biochemistry at Goethe University, has been elected to the European Organization for Molecular Biology, EMBO. The specialist in immune research thus ranks at one of the best researchers in Europe and the world. 

“It's a special distinction for the whole team, who was able to illuminate fundamental aspects of the adaptive immune system," says Robert Tampé. “These discoveries will not only find their way into textbooks, but will also provide a variety of therapeutic approaches for combatting infectious diseases and cancer." 

Just last year, Tampé was awarded an “ERC Advanced Grant" by the European Research Council amounting to 2.5 million euros. This project is dedicated to the question of how certain viruses circumvent control by the immune system. It particularly looks at molecular transport mechanisms that carry fragments of invading viruses to the cell's surface where they attract the attention of the T-cells of the immune system. Knowing how viruses bypass this process promises progress in the field of infectious and autoimmune diseases as well as in cancer research. The Reinhard Koselleck project, with 1.5 million euros in funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG), also deals with the quality control and assembly by macromolecular complexes that trigger the immune system. 

Through the Koselleck program, the DFG enables outstanding researchers to pursue exceptionally innovative and higher-risk projects. Tampé and his team are investigating the organization of the antigen quality control locations both inside the cell and in the cell membrane. The challenge lies in decoding the structure and function of larger, differently assembled protein complexes which, moreover, rarely exist in intercellular membranes. 

Robert Tampé studied chemistry at the Technical University Darmstadt where he received his doctorate in biochemistry. As Max-Kade Fellow, he explored mechanistic aspects of antigen presentation at Stanford University. From 1992 to 1998, he headed a research group at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried and he was appointed as Assistant Professor in Biochemistry at the Technical University of Munich in 1996. From 1996 to 1998 he was DFG Heisenberg Fellow. Subsequently, he headed the Institute of Physiological Chemistry at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Marburg. Since 2001, he has been the director of the Institute of Biochemistry at Goethe University. He also holds honorary visiting professorships at the University of Oxford and University of Kyoto. 

EMBO is an organization of more than 1800 leading researchers that promotes excellence in the life sciences. The major goals of the organization are to support talented researchers at all stages of their careers, stimulate the exchange of scientific information, and help build a European research environment where scientists can achieve their best work. 

Further information: Prof. Dr. Robert Tampé, Institute of Biochemistry, Riedberg Campus, Tel. +49 69 798-29475, tampe@em.uni-frankfurt.de

 

Jun 12 2019
08:55

Biotechnologists from Goethe University develop robust and efficient methods for the production of new peptide drugs

Construction kit for custom-designed products 

FRANKFURT. Microorganisms often assemble natural products similar to product assembly lines. Certain enzymes, non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS), play a key role in this process. Biotechnologists at Goethe University have now succeeded in changing these enzymes so that entirely new natural products, or even libraries of natural products, can be produced by microorganisms. 

Many important natural products such as antibiotics, immunosuppressants, or anti-cancer drugs are produced by microorganisms. These natural products are often small peptides, which in several cases are too complex for a chemical synthesis in the laboratory. In the microbial producers of these drugs, the drugs are generated with the help of the NRPS enzymes in a manner similar to a modern automobile factory: at each station, additional parts are added to the basic structure until finally a complete automobile leaves the factory. In the case of NRPS, a specific amino acid is incorporated and processed at each station (module) so that in the end, peptides emerge that can be linear, cyclic or otherwise modified, and which can also carry unusual amino acids. 

Although the basic principles of NRPS have been known for a long time, it was previously hardly possible to modify these enzymes in an easy and efficient way that also allows the complete assembly of fully artificial enzymes leading to new-to-nature peptides. While in the past NRPS modification usually led to a dramatic drop in the production titre of the desired modified peptides, the Molecular Biotechnology research group of Professor Helge Bode already published a new method in 2018 that avoided this drawback. The group has now further optimized this method allowing the easy production of new peptides in excellent yield. 

“We use fragments of natural NRPS systems from different bacteria as building blocks that we connect to each other using specific assembly points we have identified," Andreas Tietze and Janik Kranz explain the research approach they developed as part of a larger team in the Bode group. “The yields are comparable to the natural production of the non-modified natural products and the new methods also enable the simple production of peptide libraries, which was not possible before". 

The method is so well established, beginners can use it to produce new peptides after a short training period. But to get to this point was a long way. “Following the first promising experiments by Kenan, my PhD student at the time, we worked for a long time on the project with a major part of my group until we were certain that our method fulfilled the requirements of a robust and easily reproducible engineering method," Bode states. “Thanks to the LOEWE priority programmes MegaSyn and Translational Biodiversity Genomics, we had the necessary personnel and financial support, and could concentrate completely on the project." 

The next step is to modify the first clinically relevant drugs with this method and produce them in microorganisms applying biotechnology methods. The conditions for this are good - Bode was only recently awarded one of the renowned ERC Advanced Grants from the European Research Council in order to further optimize the methods over the next five years. 

Publication: Kenan A. J. Bozhüyük, Annabell Linck, Andreas Tietze, Janik Kranz, Frank Wesche, Sarah Nowak, Florian Fleischhacker, Yan-Ni Shi, Peter Grün, Helge B. Bode: Modification and de novo design of non-ribosomal peptide synthetases (NRPS) using specific assembly points within condensation domains, Nature Chemistry, https://www.nature.com/articles/s41557-019-0276-z; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41557-019-0276-z 

An image can be downloaded here: http://www.uni-frankfurt.de/78678421 
CaptionFrom left to right: Dr. Yan-Ni Shi, Prof. Helge Bode, Janik Kranz, Peter Grün und Andreas Tietze.. Credit: Jürgen Lecher, Goethe-Universität. 

Further information: Professor Helge B. Bode, Molecular Biotechnology, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Riedberg Campus, Tel.: +49 69 798-29557, H.Bode@bio.uni-frankfurt.de.

 

Jun 3 2019
12:18

The Baker McKenzie Award 2018 presented for two outstanding dissertations on commercial law at Goethe University  

Award-winning dissertations on investment protection law and substance law 

FRANKFURT. On the occasion of the doctoral awards ceremony of the Faculty of Law at Goethe University, Frankfurt, Baker McKenzie presented the prize for two outstanding dissertations in the field of commercial law on 10th May 2019. Donated by the international law firm and endowed with 6,000 euros, the Baker McKenzie Award went to the legal scholars Dr. Greg Lourie and Dr. Stefanie Merenyi, whose doctoral theses were honoured with 'summa cum laude'. Dr. Joachim Scherer, partner at Baker McKenzie, presented the award. 

The award-winning thesis of Dr. Greg Lourie is entitled "Interpretation of Investment Agreements. A new Concept for the Interpretation of Investment Agreements through Amicable Means and State-to-State Arbitration". The starting point of his paper is that international investment protection law (IIL) is currently facing a crisis. "Greg's work contributes to overcoming the legitimacy crisis of IIL, or at least its dispute resolution system. It shows a creative and feasible way and proposes to rely on state-to-state dispute settlement (SSDS) and to (re)include the states as 'masters of the treaties'," comments mentoring professor Dr. Rainer Hofmann, professor for Public Law, International Law and European Law at Goethe University, in his evaluation of the dissertation. 

Dr. Stefanie Merenyi receives the award for her dissertation "The Concept of Substance in Law. An Interdisciplinary Study on Substance Law in Consideration of Patent-Related Matters" (Der Stoffbegriff im Recht. Eine interdisziplinäre Studie zum Stoffrecht unter Berücksichtigung des auf Stoffe gerichteten Patentwesens). "Stefanie Merenyi concludes that, despite the significance of the concept of substance in modern law, no adequate reflection on its foundations takes place," says Professor Eckard Rehbinder, Institute for International and European Private Law and Comparative Law at Goethe University, who supervised the dissertation. He describes the dissertation as "an interdisciplinary thesis in the best sense of the word", bridging the gap between human sciences and natural sciences. In his opinion, Stefanie Merenyi masters the keyboard of numerous scientific disciplines perfectly. 

Since 1988, Baker McKenzie has awarded the Prize for outstanding dissertations or professorial theses written at the Faculty of Law at Goethe University. "The Baker McKenzie Award is a traditional, integral part of our promotion of young legal talent," says Dr. Joachim Scherer of Baker McKenzie, who himself studied law, earned his doctorate and was appointed extraordinary professor of public law in 1995 at Goethe University. The career paths of the previous winners of the Baker McKenzie Award are manifold. Many award winners are university professors today, as well as corporate lawyers, investment bankers, judges and lawyers. 

Baker McKenzie advises clients on managing the challenges of globalisation, in particular with regard to legal issues that cross national borders and areas of law. The firm, which was founded more than 65 years ago, employs 13,000 individuals worldwide. In Germany, approximately 200 lawyers work at offices in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt/Main and Munich. A leading German law firm, Baker McKenzie advises national and international companies and institutions in all areas of commercial law.  

Further information: Iris Meinking, Senior Manager, HR Communications, Tel. -49 69 299 08 322, iris.meinking@bakermckenzie.com

Portraits may be downloaded at: http://www.uni-frankfurt.de/77945541 
Captions: Dr. Stefanie Merenyi received the Baker McKenzie Award for her work on substance law. (Credit: Merenyi) Dr. Greg Lourie was received the Baker McKenzie Award for his work on investment protection law. (Credit: Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton)

 

May 29 2019
13:18

Ceremonial presentation of the „Cambridge Habermas Lexicon“ at the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften

Cambridge University Press publishes lexicon on Jürgen Habermas

FRANKFURT. A great honour for Jürgen Habermas: in the year of his 90th birthday, Cambridge University Press has published an extensive lexicon about the philosopher and sociologist who was a professor at the Institute for Philosophy at Goethe University until 1994. The international team of authors includes academics from Goethe University. The two editors Amy Allen and Eduardo Mendieta personally presented the compendium to Jürgen Habermas on Monday May 27 at the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften in Bad Homburg. 

In more than 200 entries, Habermas' basic concepts, categories and topics are explained and their intellectual and academic context detailed. The palette of more than 120 concepts extends from “aesthetics" to “world disclosure"; the list of important Habermas-related thinkers begins with Theodor W. Adorno and ends with Iris Marion Young. The Frankfurt philosophers Axel Honneth and Reiner Forst are discussed in the chapter “Names Associated". The work is characterised by a system of references between individual entries and literature for further reading on each topic. In addition, it contains an overview of Jürgen Habermas' academic career, a list of his works, and an extensive bibliography. The publishers hope that the lexicon will serve as a source of reference for academics, students and other readers interested in Habermas' work and its reception in the 20th and 21st century. 

Matthias Lutz-Bachmann, professor for philosophy at Goethe University, and director of the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften emphasized that the “Cambridge Habermas Lexicon" demonstrates Habermas' towering importance. “Yes, I would even go so far as to state that Jürgen Habermas is the worldwide most important philosopher of all philosophers living today. And we can be proud and grateful that he is a member of the Institute for Philosophy at Goethe University and a frequent guest at the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften, as well as at the Frankfurt Excellence Cluster 'The Formation of Normative Orders'. We have all learned immensely from him to this day." 

Lutz-Bachmann also announced that a new book by Habermas is expected to be published this year: “In the fall of this year, at the age of almost 90, this great philosopher and important intellectual stimulator will be submitting his 1,700-page late work in two volumes, “Diskurs über Glauben und Wissen" (Discourse on Faith and Knowledge) to Suhrkamp. We had the privilege of discussing preliminary passages from this work in a small work group two years ago during a workshop over several days at the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften. This work lets us see his intellectual brilliance once more from a totally new perspective." 

Amy Allen, Eduardo Mendieta (eds.): The Cambridge Habermas Lexicon. Cambridge University Press 2019 

Further Information: Beate Sutterlüty, Fellow Programme and Scientific Communication, Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften Bad Homburg. Phone: +49 6172-13977-15; b.sutterluety@forschungskolleg-humanwissenschaften.de ; www.forschungskolleg-humanwissenschaften.de

 

May 29 2019
12:44

Researchers at Goethe University launch a website on the status of women working in economic research institutions in Europe

Leaky pipeline: women subject to disadvantages in career development

FRANKFURT. A website presenting the results from a web-based tracking tool about the proportion of women working in economic research institutions in European countries was launched on Tuesday, May 28. The new website provides extensive and reliable data, without which the status of women in economics would be impossible to assess. Using a web-scraping algorithm, data is collected from the public websites of all research institutions in Europe, with particular focus on Europe's 300 most highly ranked economics research institutions. 

The website is the result of years of work. It began with an idea from the Women in Economics Committee of the European Economic Association (EEA), whose objectives include collecting data on the status of women in economics professions in Europe. WinE Committee member Guido Friebel, and Sascha Wilhelm, both at Goethe University Frankfurt, expanded the data collection efforts with financial support from EEA. Friebel is also a fellow at CEPR in London and IZA in Bonn. 

The website presents information about the proportion of women in different positions in universities, business schools, and other institutions. It paints a similar picture for Europe as in the USA, but there are substantial differences between the countries and regions of Europe. Institutions that rank higher in terms of their research output tend to have less women in senior positions. The finding supports the "leaky pipeline" hypothesis, according to which women are subject to a double burden, resulting in disadvantages in their career development. Surprisingly, higher ranking institutions also employ few women at the junior level as well. The website is meant to help promote the debate about women's representation in society, and to develop avenues for further data collection and research. 

Website: https://www.women-economics.com 

Further information: Professor Guido Friebel, Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, Goethe University Frankfurt. Phone: +49 69 798-34823; gfriebel@wiwi.uni-frankfurt.de. Sascha Wilhelm, wilhelm@econ.uni-frankfurt.de