Prof. Olalla Vázquez University of Marburg, Germany

Light & Peptides – triggering biological processes

Life is highly dynamic, relying on many carefully orchestrated processes with strict spatial and temporal control. To decipher cellular functions and, in turn, address complex biological questions are necessary to have tools with spatio-temporal resolution. In my group, we pursue the dream of achieving a molecularly precise understanding of biology to address the problems arising from misregulation. For this purpose, we design innovative chemical biology tools based on photosensitive molecules. In this talk, I will share our work on photoswitchable splicing modifiers¹ and how peptides can be optoepigenetic tools for in vivo control of hematopoiesis,^2,3 and how they assist us in the discovery of new therapeutic targets⁴ and beyond.