Janosch Hennig is the Chair of Biochemistry IV with a focus on Biophysical Chemistry

Prof. Dr. Janosch Hennig studied biotechnology at the Technische Universität Berlin and moved then to Sweden, Linköping to obtain his doctorate in 2009, including research visits at the Karolinska Insititute, Stockholm and University of Toronto, Canada. Being awarded an EMBO long-term fellowship and a postdoctoral stipend from the Swedish Research Council, he conducted his postdoctoral work at the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Technische Universität München. He then obtained an Emmy-Noether Fellowship from the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft and started as a group leader at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Heidelberg in 2015.

The research of his group aims to provide a detailed structural understanding of the underlying processes in transcription and translation, the two core mechanisms of life. Both ensure a constant supply of diverse proteins and RNAs to each cell and defects often lead to disease. The general aspects of both molecular processes are well understood, but how these are regulated by RNA and RNA binding proteins remains poorly understood. Therefore, the Hennig group aims to answer the question of how RNA structures of mRNAs and long non-coding RNAs as well as their interactions with RNA binding proteins influence these processes. To this end, his group combines the entire range of structural biology techniques: NMR, X-ray crystallography, cryo-electron microscopy and small-angle scattering.

His teaching will evolve dynamically around his research topics. “I hope the students will be as excited as I am to explore the RNA world together, which brings us even back towards the origin of life. RNA structures also represent an unchartered field in structural biology”, says Prof. Dr. Janosch Hennig. He looks forward to many interactions with colleagues across the campus and appreciated the friendly and open atmosphere. You might meet him along road and gravel cycling tracks in the beautiful countryside around Bayreuth.