Nijman



 Contact  Positions  Lab Members  Publications  Links  Other



About
The Nijman lab is at the Center for Molecular Medicine (CeMM, pronounce \sam\) in Vienna, Austria. We have recently moved into our new research building right next to Vienna General Hospital, one of the largest academic hospitals in Europe. CeMM is an international, independent and interdisciplinary institute of the Austrian Academy of Sciences dedicated to research with a human focus. CeMM’s mission is to combine insight obtained from basic and clinical research and use it to implement the development of innovative therapeutic and diagnostic strategies: “From the clinic to the clinic”

Research scope
In the Nijman lab we are particularly interested in cancer and try to understand the molecular processes that are misregulated in this disease with the ultimate aim to identify new therapeutic strategies. Cancer cells differ from normal cells by having acquired numerous genetic and epigenetic changes. As a consequence, cancer cells have become dependent on gene products that are not critical in normal tissues. We refer to these dependencies as vulnerabilities or Achilles' heels. We perform experiments to identify these cancer vulnerabilities or " Achilles' heels " of cancer cells using large-scale functional genomics and chemical biology. We are currently focusing on breast and lung cancer.

''Figure (right). Breast cancer in a mastectomy specimen (top). The cancerous tumour (pale yellow) resembles the figure of a crab, giving the disease its name. ''

Synthetic lethal interactions in mammalian cells


A particular type of cancer vulnerability is synthetic lethality/sickness (SSL), a term derived from classical genetics. SSL occurs when two genetic perturbation are only deleterious to a cell or organism in combination. We have recently established a method to screen large numbers of cancer relevant combinations and are now employing this technology in projects relating to breast and lung cancer.

Cell circuits and cancer: Ubiquitin dynamics
Other projects in the lab are generally focussed on cancer-relevant pathways and signaling dynamics, such as ubiquitination/deubiquitination. To identify deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs) in pathways or processes of interest we employ various post-genomic strategies. We have previously identified DUBs in NF-kappaB signaling, DNA repair and hypoxia signaling. Now, we are also exploring DUBs as potential therapeutic targets in breast cancer.



''Figure (right). Ribbon representation of ubiquitin protein, highlighting the secondary structure. α-helices are coloured in blue and the β-sheet in green. The typical attachment point for a further ubiquitin molecule in polyubiquitin chain formation, lysine 48, is shown in pink.''

In the news
Die Presse

Sebastian Nijman wins "Future of Vienna award" (Wiener Zukunftspreis) See also CeMM News

http://openwetware.org/images/9/96/02_JoinOpenWetWare.png