Dr. Patrick Giavalisco

Group "Experimental Systems Biology"
New Position: Head of Metabolomics Core Facility, Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing

The scientific interest of Dr. Patrick Giavalisco's research group lied in the analysis and identification of single molecules, signaling modules or entire pathways involved in the regulation of growth- and developmental processes. For this purpose they made use of classical molecular biology and genetics approaches in combination with targeted and untargeted high resolution mass spectrometry-based metabolomics and proteomics.

The main biological focus of the research group lied in the elucidation of the functional implications of the Target of Rapamycin (TOR)-pathway, which has been shown to integrate environmental and nutritional information into molecular growth decisions, including general regulation of protein synthesis and metabolism. Here they were especially interested in direct but also the delayed influence of TOR-perturbations on the regulation of the central metabolism and how these regulatory functions are executed through protein- but also small molecule-based signaling cascades.