Biography
Dr Jörg Mansfeld studied Biology at the University of Konstanz in Germany from 1998 to 2003. He then moved to Zurich, Switzerland, to pursue a PhD under the guidance of Professor Ulrike Kutay at the Institute of Biochemistry of the ETH Zurich, where he investigated nuclear pore complex assembly in dividing cells.
In 2008, he joined the laboratory of Professor Jonathon Pines, then based at the Wellcome Trust/CRUK Gurdon Institute in Cambridge, to study ubiquitin-mediated control of mitosis, in particular by the Anaphase Promoting Complex/Cyclosome and its accessory E2 ubiquitin-conjugating enzymes.
Supported by an Emmy Noether of the German Research foundation and later by an ERC Starters fellowship, he established his independent research group at Biotechnology Center of the TU Dresden in Dresden, Germany, in 2013. There, he applied his experience in cell cycle and ubiquitin biology to study how cells maintain cell homeostasis and decide between proliferation and the transition into quiescence - a reversible dormant state.
In July 2020, Dr Jörg Mansfeld joined the ICR, where he continues to investigate how protein modifications by ubiquitin and redox systems ensure cell homeostasis and proliferation, and how aberrations in both systems are linked to tumorigenesis.
Taking advantage of their cell biological and mechanistic insights, his group also works closely with computational and structural biologists to identify “attack points” in ubiquitin and redox enzymes to enable rational molecule design to develop leads for cancer therapy.
Profile photo: © Magdalena Gonciarz