Biography: After completing his PhD on membrane protein folding with Prof. Fritz Jaehnig (Max-Planck-Institute for Biology, 1990-1995), Thomas undertook his postdoctoral studies with Prof. Stanislas Leibler (Princeton University, 1995-1997) and Dr. Eric Karsenti (European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Heidelberg, 1998-2001). He then became Staff Scientist (2001), Team Leader (2002) and Group Leader (2006) at EMBL, before he was appointed Senior Group Leader at the Cancer Research UK London Research Institute (2011) which then became part of the Francis Crick Institute (2015). Thomas was elected a member of EMBO in 2012.
Using in vitro reconstitutions with purified proteins combined with advanced fluorescence microscopy, Thomas has made important contributions to our understanding of dynamic microtubule cytoskeleton function, focusing on the role of molecular motors and other microtubule associated proteins. Most recently, major progress has been made in understanding the molecular mechanisms of proteins binding to microtubule ends thereby controlling microtubule dynamics and nucleation and mediating interactions of microtubule ends with intracellular targets. Visit Thomas’ website for more information on his research.
You can watch Thomas’ lecture on our YouTube Channel: