Research at the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine (IBMM) focuses on the structure (Fotiadis, Kukulski, Lemmin), function (Abriel, Albrecht, Fotiadis, Gertsch, Peinelt, Lemmin) and pharmacology (Abriel, Gertsch) of membrane proteins such as transporters, ion channels, and membrane receptors. A strong emphasis is put on the roles of these membrane proteins in human disease. We combine chemical synthesis (Lochner), chemical biology/analytics (Gertsch) with electrophysiology (Abriel, Peinelt), structural biology (Fotiadis, Kukulski) and computational biology (Lemmin). Both human ex vivo (Albrecht) and genetically-modified mouse models ( Abriel, Gertsch) serve to study these transporters in different diseases like cancer (Peinelt), cardiac disorders (Abriel), preeclampsia (Albrecht) and neuropsychiatric disorders (Gertsch).
The IBMM directorate is composed of Dimitrios Fotiadis (Managing Director and Co-Director Finances), Jürg Gertsch (Deputy Managing Director and Co-Director Infrastructure and Research), Christine Peinelt (Co-Director Teaching) and Wanda Kukulski (Co-Director Safety, Quality, and Equal Opportunities).
The IBMM has hosted and supported the activities of the NCCR TransCure from 2010-2022 as leading house to apply excellence in membrane transporter research to the treatment of human diseases. It has advanced the frontiers of membrane transporter and ion channel research by combining the expertise of scientists from biology/physiology, structural biology and chemistry in multidisciplinary projects that ranged from fundamental to early-stage drug discovery research.
The specific focus areas of the individual research groups of the IBMM is shown in the section "Research"