Project Z1: Mass spectrometry, quantitative lipid analyses and lipid tools
Florian Fröhlich & Joost Holthuis
This central project expands the consortium’s technical capabilities in analyzing lipid function by developing protocols for a rapid and efficient isolation of cellular organelles, establishing workflows for mass spectrometry-based analyses of organellar lipidomes and proteomes, and generating a toolbox of functionalized lipids for monitoring intracellular lipid flows, capturing lipid effector proteins, and manipulating subcellular lipid pools.
This project provides a platform for advanced imaging across different spatial and temporal scales to resolve the highly dynamic organization of proteins and lipids within cellular membrane systems. It will establish a platform for high-resolution macromolecular structure determination and time-resolved cryo-EM, implement and further develop advanced light and electron microscopy approaches, and establish lipid imaging at the highest spatiotemporal resolution using novel lipid tools.
Project INF: Structured storage, metadata annotation, and analyses of experimental data
Susanne Kunis, Michael Hensel & Arne Möller
This project will further develop the current platforms for image data management and provide data management for additional data formats from proteomics and lipidomics mass spectrometry and flow cytometry. The project will interface the current data management platforms with an electronic lab notebook system for demands of SFB 1557 to enable the digitization of instrumental and experimental metadata alongside the data generation in experiments and analyses.
The IRTG complements the experimental training with training in a broader spectrum of subjects and provides opportunities for networking and personal development. The program includes workshops on research methods, seminars on soft skills and networking opportunities through career seminars. All activities are embedded in a structured educational program with an individual development plan and a thesis advisory committee.
We strongly support female scientists and generally underrepresented scientists throughout their careers. To this end, we invest in various measures such as coaching and mentoring programs and work closely with the Equal Opportunities Office of Osnabrück University. Within the SFB, we encourage young students and scientists to participate in these programs and ensure gender balance and diversity.
An outreach project will accompany SFB 1557 from an early stage with various innovative formats of science communication. The main aim is to present the central research questions of the SFB, and to explain how basic research in biology is linked to public interests. The project will promote the highly innovative infrastructural and technological portfolio offered by the SFB and the associated CellNanOs research building, which are flagships of the city and can be unique hubs for both research and public education.
