Self-organization of protein systems

We study mechanisms of protein self-organization, i.e. how protein systems interact to give rise to the living cell. 

Instead of looking at these phenomena in an intact cell, our group uses a “bottom-up” synthetic biology approach to rebuild cellular processes from purified components in vitro.

We are particularly interested in the mechanisms of bacterial cell division and small GTPase signaling.

We combine biochemistry, fluorescence microscopy and quantitative image analysis to bridge the gap between molecular structures of protein complexes and their emergent biological functions.

Our final aim is to understand the physico-chemical basis of the self-organization of living systems.

The Loose Lab is part of ISTA, located in Klosterneuburg, close to Vienna, Austria, where we have close collaborations with bacterial cell biologists, structural biologists and soft matter physicists.

Our research is supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF), the European Research Council (ERC) and the EMBO Young Investigator Program.