TEAM
Florian Schur
Assistant Professor
Florian studied Molecular Biology at the University of Vienna before he moved to Heidelberg, Germany, where he did his PhD at the European Molecuar Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in the lab of John Briggs. He got infected with the ‘electron microscopy virus’ early in his scientific career when he gathered his first hands-on experience with EM in the lab of Vic Small at the IMBA in Vienna. He combines his passion for cryo-electron tomography and image processing with his interest in fundamental questions of cell migration and virology.
email: florian.schur@ist.ac.at
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Andreas Thader
Lab technician
Andi was the first member to join the lab. He holds a Masters degree in Genetics and Microbiology from the University of Vienna and obtained his Phd in biochemistry from the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna (BOKU). He is a very experienced protein and analytical chemist, who is fascinated by new methods and state of the art technology.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Bettina Zens
PhD student
Bettina holds a Bachelor degree in Biotechnology and studied Molecular Biosciences at the University of Heidelberg, Germany. After obtaining her degree, she moved to Vienna to work as a laboratory manager in the group of Sascha Martens at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories, where she gained experience in biochemistry by focusing on the in vitro reconstitution of the autophagic machinery and protein purification.
In the Schur lab, Bettina is highly motivated to apply her acquired skillset in molecular biology, cell biology and biochemistry to important questions in cell migration. This includes establishing new protocols to study cellular ultrastructures that allow cells to move in highly complex environments.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Floria
n Fäßler
Postdoc
Florian is an enthusiastic cell-biologist and microscopist. He holds a Master’s degree in Biology from the University of Tübingen and did his PhD at the Center for Plant Molecular Biology. During his studies on intracellular protein transport Florian acquired a profound expertise in molecular biology, live-cell imaging and protein interaction analysis. For his stay with the Schur group he will apply those skills together with cryo-electron tomography in order to analyze the structural basis of actin-based cell migration.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Georgi Dimchev
Postdoc
Georgi has acquired multi-disciplinary expertise in a number of international research institutes, with particular focus on the regulation of cell motility. He completed his PhD at the Manchester Metropolitan University, where he investigated the migration of myogenic precursor cells and later, as a Postdoc in Klemens Rottner’s group, he acquired substantial experience in various microscopy methods used to study the function of the actin cytoskeleton in driving cell motility. Georgi is highly motivated to apply cryo-EM and tomography methods in order to dive deeper into the complex machinery that is required for cells to move.
Georgi is generously funded by the FWF (M2495 Lise-Meitner-Programm) for a project investigating protein structure and function in filopodia across scales. The project involves linking cell and structural biology approaches in order to elucidate the function of filopodial proteins in the context of cell migration.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Martin Obr
Postdoc
Martin obtained his master’s degree in Biochemistry from the Institute of Chemistry and Technology in Prague, followed by a second master’s degree in Molecular Biology, Genetics and Virology from the Charles University in Prague, Czech republic. During his PhD in the Department of Infectious Diseases in Heidelberg, Germany, he used in vitro techniques and electron microscopy to investigate the assembly of HIV. In the Schur group Martin is trying to apply his experience in to advance the knowledge in the structural biology of viruses.
Martin is funded through a FWF grant (P31445 – stand alone) for investigating the structural conservation and diversity in retroviral capsid.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Julia Stanger
PhD student
Julia obtained her bachelor degree in Molecular Biology at the Technical University of Graz, Austria and continued with a master in Microbiology. For her first master thesis she focused on molecular metabolism in the laboratory of Markus Ralser at the University of Cambridge. During her second master in Molecular Medicine at the University of Vienna she studied the molecular and structural biology of picornaviruses in Heinrich Kowalski’s group at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories. In the Schur group Julia is excited to apply her knowledge in molecular biology, biochemistry and virology to investigate host pathogen interactions on a cellular and structural biology level.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Darío Porley
PhD student
Darío obtained his bachelor’s degree in Biology and a master’s degree in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of the Republic in Montevideo, Uruguay. During this time, he acquired experience in molecular and cell biology techniques by studying the ORF virus virulence factor, OH1. He was also involved other projects, such as the molecular detection of several porcine viruses and the use of viral vectors for gene expression. In the Schur group, Darío seeks to apply this skill set along with cryo-electron tomography, to the structural characterization of retroviral capsids.
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Alumni
Marco Kuslar (01/2018-01/2019)
master student
Yuanmin Zhou (02/2018-07/2018)
scientific intern
Darya Chernikova (07/2018-12/2018)
scientific intern
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….