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Axel Brakhage, Germany

Personal info

Education

• 1985 Diploma in Biology, University of Münster
• 1989 PhD in Microbiology, with distinction (summa cum laude), University of Münster and IBPC Paris
• 1996 Habilitation in Microbiology, University of Munich

Professional Scientific Career

• Since 2005 Director Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute, Jena
• Since 2005 Head of Department Molecular and Applied Microbiology, HKI Jena
• Since 2004 Full Professor and Chair of Microbiology and Molecular Biology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena
• 2001 - 2004 Full Professor and Chair of Microbiology, University of Hanover
• 1998 - 2001 Associate Professor (C3) of Microbiology, Darmstadt University of Technology
• 1992 - 1998 Assistant Professor, University of Munich
• 1990 - 1992 Postdoctoral researcher, DFG funded, The University of Sheffield, UK
• 1989 - 1990 Group leader, Research Department Biotechnology, BASF AG, Ludwigshafen

Interdisciplinary Affiliation

• Since 2006 Speaker of the GRK "International Leibniz Research School for Microbial and Biomolecular Interactions"
• Since 2005 Principal investigator in three EU projects
• Since 2004 Speaker of the DFG Priority Program 1160 "Colonisation and infection by human-pathogenic fungi"
• Since 2003 Member of the Program Committee DFG Priority Program 1152 "Evolution of Metabolic Diversity"
• Since 1998 Member of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Hygiene und Mikrobiologie (DGHM)
• Since 1990 Member of the American Society for Microbiology
• Since 1988 Member of the Gesellschaft für Biochemie und Molekularbiologie
• Since 1986 Member of the Vereinigung für Allgemeine und Angewandte Mikrobiologie (VAAM)

Administrative Experience

• Since 2006 Editor of Applied and Environmental Microbiology (ASM Journal)
• Since 2005 Director of the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (HKI) Jena
• Since 1998 Member of the Editorial Board of the following Journals: Applied and Environmental Microbiology; Current Genetics; Archives of Microbiology; Applied Microbiology and Biotechnology
• 2003 - 2004 Dean of the Faculty of Biology, University of Hanover
• 2001 - 2004 Director Institute of Microbiology, University of Hanover
• 1999 - 2000 Director Institute of Microbiology and Genetics, Darmstadt University of Technology

Honours and Awards

• 2009 President of the "Vereinigung für Allgemeine und Angewandte Mikrobiologie (VAAM)"
• 2008 Member of the German Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
• 2007-2009 Vice-President of the "Vereinigung für Allgemeine und Angewandte Mikrobiologie (VAAM)"
• Since 2005 Member of the Scientific Advisory Board "Goettinger Center for Molecular Bio/Sciences", University of Goettingen
• Since 2003 Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of "Center for Microbial Biotechnology" DTU Copenhagen, Denmark
• 2006 Seeliger-Award for Bacteriology and Mycology (Seeliger-Stiftung)
• 2002 - 2006 Member of the Scientific Advisory Board of "Centre for Infectious Diseases", University of Wuerzburg

Scientific interest areas

• Pathobiology of the human-pathogenic fungus Aspergillus fumigates
• Eukaryotic transcription factors and signal transduction
• Molecular biotechnology of the biosynthesis of fungal secondary metabolites

Publications

• Bergmann S, Schümann J, Scherlach K, Lange C, Brakhage AA, Hertweck C (2007) Genomics-driven discovery of PKS-NRPS hybrid metabolites from Aspergillus nidulans. Nat Chem Biol 3, 213-217.
• Behnsen J, Narang P, Hasenberg M, Gunzer F, Bilitewski U, Klippel N, Rohde M, Brock M, Brakhage AA, Gunzer M (2007) Environmental dimensionality controls the interaction of phagocytes with the pathogenic fungi Aspergillus fumigatus and Candida albicans. PLoS Pathogen 3, e13.
• Luther K, Torosantucci A, Brakhage AA, Heesemann J, Ebel F (2007) Efficient phagocytosis of Aspergillus fumigatus conidia by murine macrophages requires recognition of b1-3 glucan by dectin-1 and the presence of Toll-like receptor 2. Cell Microbiol 9, 368-381.
• Kupfahl C, Heinekamp T, Geginat G, Ruppert T, Härtl A, Hof H, Brakhage AA (2006) Deletion of the gliP gene of Aspergillus fumigatus results in loss of gliotoxin production but has no effect on virulence of the fungus in a low-dose mouse infection model. Mol Microbiol 62, 292-302.
• Herrmann M, Spröte P, Brakhage AA (2006) Protein kinase C (PkcA) of Aspergillus nidulans is involved in the penicillin production. Appl Environ Microbiol 72, 2957-2970.
• Tüncher A, Spröte P, Gehrke A, Brakhage AA (2005) The CCAAT binding complex of eukaryotes: Evolution of a second NLS in the HapB subunit of the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans despite functional conservation at the molecular level between yeast, A. nidulans and human. J Mol Biol 352, 517-533.
• Steidl S, Tüncher A, Goda H, Guder C, Papadopoulou N, Kobayashi T, Tsukagoshi N, Kato M and Brakhage AA (2004) A single subunit of a heterotrimeric CCAAT-binding complex carries a nuclear localization signal: piggy back transport of the pre-assembled complex to the nucleus. J Mol Biol 342, 515-524.
• Tüncher A, Reinke H, Martic G, Caruso ML, Brakhage AA (2004) A basic region helix-loophelix protein-encoding gene (devR) involved in the development of Aspergillus nidulans. Mol Microbiol 52, 227-241.
• Jahn B, Langfelder K, Schneider U, Schindel C, Brakhage AA (2002) PKSP dependent reduction of phagolysosome fusion and intracellular kill of Aspergillus fumigatus conidia by human macrophages. Cell Microbiol 4, 793-804.
• Steidl S, Papagiannopoulos P, Litzka O, Andrianopoulos A, Davis MA, Brakhage AA, Hynes JM (1999) AnCF, the CCAAT binding complex of Aspergillus nidulans contains products of the hapB, hapC and hapE genes and is required for activation by the pathway specific regulatory gene, amdR. Mol Cell Biol 19, 99-106.