03.12.2024 Katharina Höfer, now a full professor, selected as EMBO Young Investigator
The PI of our Project 6 has almost simultaneously been appointed as Full Professor at the University of Marburg and to the European Molecular Biology Organisation's network of top young European researchers.
Two researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology (MPI-TM) and the Philipps University of Marburg have been selected by the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) for the 'Young Investigator' programme. Dr. Johannes Rebelein and Prof. Dr. Katharina Höfer, along with 27 other scientists from across Europe who were honoured this year, will receive financial support and access to mentoring and training programmes for a period of four years.
The new young scientists join the programme as active members for a period of four years starting in January and become part of an international network of almost 800 current and former members. The programme's core focus is on networking between researchers. Their research topics range from cell biology to immunology and neuroscience.
Prof. Dr Katharina Höfer and her research team are investigating the role of novel RNA building blocks in bacteria infected by viruses, known as bacteriophages. They recently discovered a previously unknown enzymatic reaction that links RNAs to proteins. During the infection of bacteria by bacteriophages, completely new biomolecules are produced that were previously unknown in nature. We are currently investigating the function of this RNAylation both at the Max Planck Institute for Terrestrial Microbiology and as part of my LOEWE professorship at the Institute of Pharmaceutical biology and biotechnology. Thanks to the excellent EMBO network, we will be able to investigate the importance of RNAylation in other organisms, including humans," says Katharina Höfer. One of her long-term goals is to establish RNAylation as an innovative method for controlling microbial processes, including the production of novel RNA-based therapeutics. "EMBO's international network opens up opportunities for us to explore completely new approaches and also to further develop successful interdisciplinary research at the University of Marburg, for example within the Centre for Synthetic Microbiology (SYNMIKRO) and the planned Microbes-4-Clima (M4C) Cluster of Excellence," she emphasises.
Katharina Höfer studied Life Sciences and Biotechnology in Hannover and Heidelberg. After completing her doctorate and postdoctoral studies at the University of Heidelberg, she joined the Max Planck Institute in Marburg in 2020 as a Max Planck Research Group Leader. From December 2024, she will be a LOEWE Top Professor at at the Philipps University of Marburg.