Dr. Bernd Hoffmann

Senior Scientist and Group Leader

Forschungsthemen

Mechanobiology, Mechanosensitivity of mammalian cells, Cytoskeleton, Transfection systems, RNA and RNA secondary structures, Cellular forces

Kontakt

+49 2461/61-6734

+49 2461/61-3907

E-Mail

ORCID ID 0000-0002-3803-8835

Adresse

Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH
Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße
52428 Jülich

Institut für Biologische Informationsprozesse (IBI)

Mechanobiologie (IBI-2)

Gebäude 02.11 / Raum 119

Manipulating mammalian cells: how mechanical and targeted RNA signals can steer cell function

Every cell in our body is constantly exposed to a tremendous set of various signals. These signals are essential to maintain cell function, tissue integrity but also to allow constant adaptation to environmental changes. Beside elasticity, strain is one of the most common mechanical signals and is transmitted to cells in different amplitudes and frequencies, for example through heart function, respiration and muscle movement. I am interested in how these types of mechanical stimuli are recognised by cells and translated into signalling cascades to induce a cellular response. At the same time, we use both, mechanical stimuli and genetic signals to induce specific functions and responses in cells. On the genetic signal level, we have developed so-called selectively expressed RNA molecules for that purpose that allow us to develop targeted RNA-based therapies against diseases.

Vita

Scientific career

Habilitation

2015 Habilitation in Cell Biology at the Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-University Bonn (Germany).

Since 2015 Associate faculty member at the University Bonn.

Lab leader and Senior Scientist

Since 2002 at the Research Center Jülich at the Institute of Biological Information Processing, IBI-2

Postdoctoral time:

2000 - 2002 Postdoctoral fellow at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey

University education:

Apr 2000 Granting of a doctorate (Ph.D.) in Biology at the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen, Germany

Industrial career

beniag ltd.

2013 Co-founder of beniag ltd. Focus on development and marketing of fusogenic nano-carriers.

Since 2013 Patent holder of numerous delivery systems for nucleic acids in mammals

2013-2020 CEO at beniag ltd.

aReNA Biotech ltd. / SRTD biotech ltd.

2018 Filing the basic patent on selectively expressed RNA molecules.

2020 Co-founder of aReNA Biotech ltd. Development of seRNA-based therapeutics.

Since 2020 CEO and CSO at aReNA Biotech ltd. / SRTD biotech ltd.

Publikationen

Selected publications

Hoffmann, M., Schuele, S., Hoffmann, C., Rastfeld, F., Gerlach, S., Hersch, N., Walter, H.L., Wiedermann, D., Fink, G.R., Merkel, R., Bohlen, H., Rueger, M.A. and B. Hoffmann (2022) Selectively expressed RNA molecules: a new dimension in functionalized cell targeting. bioRxiv. doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2022.05.10.491309

Loevenich, L., Dreissen, G., Hoffmann, C., Konrad, J., Springer, R., Höhfeld, J., Merkel, R. and B. Hoffmann (2021) Strain induced mechanoresponse depends on cell contractility and BAG3-mediated autophagy. Mol. Biol. Cell. 32(20): ar9.

Höhfeld, J., Benzing, T., Bloch, W., Fürst, D.O., Gehlert, S., Hesse, M., Hoffmann, B., Hoppe, T., Huesgen, P.F., Köhn, M., Kolanus, W., Merkel, R., Niessen, C.M., Pokrzywa, W., Rinschen, M.M., Wachten, D. and B. Warscheid (2021) Maintaining proteostasis under mechanical stress. EMBO Rep. e52507

Nava, M.M., Miroshnikova, Y.A., Biggs, L.C., Whitefield, D.B., Metge, F., Boucas, J., Vihinen, H., Jokitalo, E., Li, X., García Arcos, J.M., Hoffmann, B., Merkel, R., Niessen, C.M., Dahl, K.N. and S.A. Wickström (2020) Heterochromatin-Driven Nuclear Softening Protects the Genome against Mechanical Stress-Induced Damage. Cell. 181:800-817.

Abraham, J.A., Linnartz, C., Dreissen, G., Springer, R., Blaschke, S., Rueger, M.A., Fink, G.R., Hoffmann, B. and R. Merkel (2018) Directing Neuronal Outgrowth and Network Formation of Rat Cortical Neurons by Cyclic Substrate Stretch. Langmuir 35:7423-7431.

Noethel, B., Ramms, L., Dreissen, G., Hoffmann, M., Springer, R., Rübsam, M., Ziegler, W.H., Niessen, C.M., Merkel, R. and B. Hoffmann (2018) Transition of responsive mechanosensitive

elements from focal adhesions to adherens junctions on epithelial differentiation. Mol Biol Cell. 29:2317-2325.

Letzte Änderung: 19.08.2024