ABOUT

Welcome to the Ralser Lab

at

Charité – UniversitÆtsmedizin Berlin, Germany

and at

Oxford University, UK

Life runs on thousands of chemical reactions, known collectively as metabolism. For a long time, metabolism has been seen as a static series of biochemical reactions. But in fact this reaction network is highly dynamic, and adapts to many biologically important phenomena such as ever-changing environments, ageing, and cell proliferation.
We study regulatory roles of metabolism and how its dynamics are maintained by combining methods of functional genomics with mass spectrometry. Our reserach is focused on the regulatory functions of the metabolic network • the maintenance of its dynamics • the systematic identification of gene-metabolism interactions • the cooperation of cells to share metabolites • the evolution of metabolism • and the development of high-throughput metabolomic and proteomic methods.

Proteomics

All the proteins in an organisms are collectively known as the proteome. Proteomics—the study of the proteome—is a highly technical, data-rich discipline with diverse applications. At our lab we not only use a state-of-the-art mass-spectrometry platform, we also work in collaboration with MS manufacturers to develop novel methodologies for the benefit of all.

Fungal diseases: pathogenicity and resistance

Fungal pathogens infect millions of people every year, often with deadly outcomes. As with bacteria and antibiotics, resistance to anti-fungal pharmaceuticals is becoming more and more relevant. Using proteomics and molecular-biology techniques, we study this resistance and thus provide the groundwork for developing next-generation drugs. To this end, we use, among others, model insects such as the wax moth Galleria mellonella and fungal pathogens, mainly Candida albicans.

Covid-19 and monkeypox

Proteomics has been engaged in the fight against Covid-19 right from the pandemic's early days. Proteomic analysis of blood samples taken from Covid-19 patients has revealed markers predictive of disease severity and outcome. In other words: the amount of certain human blood proteins can predict how a patient infected with Covid-19 will fare.

In collaboration with various hospitals and industry partners, we developed a kit that any hospital lab can use in order to quickly sort patients and facilitate quick decisions. We recently showed that this kit, with appropriate modifications, can also be used in the emerging monkeypox outbreak.

The Ralser Lab is funded by:

We sometimes get awards!

Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin

CCM (Campus Mitte)

Virchowweg 6

10117 Berlin, Germany

+49 30 450 528 141

markus.ralser@charite.de
Follow us on Twitter