Jörg Menche becomes Professor at Max Perutz Labs and University of Vienna, and CeMM Adjunct Principal Investigator
On 1 September 2020, Jörg Menche and his team members joined the Institute of Mathematics of the University of Vienna, and the Department of Structural and Computational Biology at the Max Perutz Labs, a joint venture between University of Vienna and the Medical University of Vienna. After 5 successful years as PI at CeMM, Jörg will now become a CeMM Adjunct Principal Investigator. Jörg Menche studied physics in Leipzig, Recife and Berlin. During his PhD with Reinhard Lipowsky at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces in Potsdam he specialized in network theory. He then moved to Boston to work as a postdoctoral fellow with Albert-László Barabási at Northeastern University and at the Center for Cancer Systems Biology at Dana Farber Cancer Institute. In close collaboration with Joseph Loscalzo from Harvard Medical School and Marc Vidal from Dana Farber Cancer Institute, he applied tools and concepts from network theory to elucidate the complex machinery of interacting molecules that constitutes the basis of (patho-)physiological states.
Since joining CeMM as Principal Investigator in 2015, Jörg applied diverse computational approaches to help understand and interpret the large datasets derived from the broad range of powerful post-genomic technologies that CeMM researchers employ, from next-generation sequencing of genomes, epigenomes and transcriptomes, to high-throughput proteomics and chemical screening. One of his group’s achievement at CeMM was the development of a novel mathematical framework for accurately mapping out how different perturbations of the interactome influence each other (Caldera et al. Nature Communications. 2019 Nov 13;10(1):5140). This work offered a first general approach to quantify with precision how drugs interact, based on a mathematical model that considers their high-dimensional effects. Their research revealed that the position of targets of a given drug within the interactome is not random but rather localized within drug modules. Furthermore, the group identified various factors that contribute to the emergence of such interactions. In comparison with previous methods, which characterize interactions only as synergistic or antagonistic, the team reported that the new methodology can distinguish 12 distinct interaction types as well as reveal the direction of an interaction. The introduced framework could be used to address other key challenges, such as dissecting the combined impact of genetic variations or predicting the effect of a drug on a particular disease phenotype.
Another key project of Jörg and his group was a Virtual Reality (VR) Holodeck, developed in collaboration with medical groups, such as the one of Kaan Boztug, CeMM Adjunct PI and Director of CCRI and the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases. The project team developed a specific device including VR glasses, which allows the user to dive deep into the massive molecular networks behind genetic diseases. The unique VR experience provides a first glimpse on how humans and machines will interact in the future to visualize and explore complex medical data to the benefit of research and patients. His co-supervised PhD student Julia Pazmandi won the Falling Walls Competition Austria in 2019.
This is not a goodbye, it is a natural step forward into his scientific career. CeMM does not offer tenure and therefore Jörg Menche’s relationship with CeMM enters a new phase: As Adjunct PI, Jörg will stay connected with the institute through the CeMM PhD and PostDoc Programs, scientific events, faculty meetings and well-established networks and research collaborations.
CeMM wishes Jörg and his team all the best for this next career step at MFPL and the University of Vienna!
Since joining CeMM as Principal Investigator in 2015, Jörg applied diverse computational approaches to help understand and interpret the large datasets derived from the broad range of powerful post-genomic technologies that CeMM researchers employ, from next-generation sequencing of genomes, epigenomes and transcriptomes, to high-throughput proteomics and chemical screening. One of his group’s achievement at CeMM was the development of a novel mathematical framework for accurately mapping out how different perturbations of the interactome influence each other (Caldera et al. Nature Communications. 2019 Nov 13;10(1):5140). This work offered a first general approach to quantify with precision how drugs interact, based on a mathematical model that considers their high-dimensional effects. Their research revealed that the position of targets of a given drug within the interactome is not random but rather localized within drug modules. Furthermore, the group identified various factors that contribute to the emergence of such interactions. In comparison with previous methods, which characterize interactions only as synergistic or antagonistic, the team reported that the new methodology can distinguish 12 distinct interaction types as well as reveal the direction of an interaction. The introduced framework could be used to address other key challenges, such as dissecting the combined impact of genetic variations or predicting the effect of a drug on a particular disease phenotype.
Another key project of Jörg and his group was a Virtual Reality (VR) Holodeck, developed in collaboration with medical groups, such as the one of Kaan Boztug, CeMM Adjunct PI and Director of CCRI and the Ludwig Boltzmann Institute for Rare and Undiagnosed Diseases. The project team developed a specific device including VR glasses, which allows the user to dive deep into the massive molecular networks behind genetic diseases. The unique VR experience provides a first glimpse on how humans and machines will interact in the future to visualize and explore complex medical data to the benefit of research and patients. His co-supervised PhD student Julia Pazmandi won the Falling Walls Competition Austria in 2019.
This is not a goodbye, it is a natural step forward into his scientific career. CeMM does not offer tenure and therefore Jörg Menche’s relationship with CeMM enters a new phase: As Adjunct PI, Jörg will stay connected with the institute through the CeMM PhD and PostDoc Programs, scientific events, faculty meetings and well-established networks and research collaborations.
CeMM wishes Jörg and his team all the best for this next career step at MFPL and the University of Vienna!
Links zum Thema
Artikel teilen
