Dr. Matthias Völkl

Current Projects                                                    

My team focuses on investigating the nucleolar protein NOP14, a key component of the ribosomal processome that plays a critical role in ribosome biogenesis. Despite its established importance in ribosome assembly, NOP14 remains poorly understood. It is assumed to participate in pathological processes such as cancer progression, immune cell infiltration, and inflammation, and first sudies from Prof. Fürst's lab support this assumption. The precise molecular mechanisms by which NOP14 contributes to these processes are still unknown.

To address this knowledge gap, our research aims to elucidate the biological functions and molecular pathways associated with NOP14. Additionally, we are exploring the interaction between NOP14 and the natural product vioprolide A, assessing its utility not only as a molecular probe to dissect NOP14's function but also as a potential pharmacological lead for therapeutic development. This approach seeks to characterize NOP14 as a viable target for therapeutic intervention, with the goal of advancing our understanding of its role in disease.

• Nadine Frey is analysing the function of NOP14 in human immune cells and aims to characterise NOP14 - by using the natural product vioprolide - as a potential new drug target in the field of inflammation.
• Hua Yao is investigating NOP14 preclinically as a pharmacological target for cancer therapy by analysing the invasion or interaction of immune cells in in vitro tumour models dependent on NOP14.

Team Members

• Frey, Nadine (PhD student)
• Yua, Huo (PhD student)
• Grohs, Bernadette (Technician)
• Wiethaler, Pia (Intern)