Birkmann Group

Group leader

Title	Name	First Name	Position
Dr.	Birkmann	Eva	Group Leader

 For more information on the principal investigator click here...

Researchers

Title	Name	First Name	Position
Dr.	Bannach	Oliver	Post Doc

BioStruct Fellow

Title	Name	First Name	Position
Msc.	Marbach	Jendrik	PhD student

 For more information on the biostruct fellow click here...

Further Team Members

Technicians:	2
Master/Diploma students:	1
PHD/MD students:	3

Contact

Eva Birkmann
ISB-3 / Structural Biochemistry
Forschungszentrum Jülich
Wilhelm-Johnen-Str.
52428 Jülich
Germany

 +49(0)211 8112342
 +49(0)211 8115167

Special Methodical Expertise

• Biophysical analysis of protein aggregation mechanisms
• Protein membrane interaction
• Purification and analysis of prion proteins from cell cultures and natural tissues

Main areas of research interest

• Neurodegenerative diseases
• Prions
• Membrane proteins
• Protein aggregation mechanism

Facilities

The laboratories cover the following gene technology security levels:

S2

Laboratory Equipment

General equipment available in the laboratories:

• Biophysics
• Molecular biology

Special equipment, which is not generally available in most laboratories:

• 2-colour fluorescence correlation spectrometer
• Spectralpolarimeter J715 (circular-dichroismus-spectrometer)

Non-standard methods, which are established in the laboratory:

• Fluorescence Correlations spectroscopy, analytical ultracentrifugation, Fluorescence
• Imaging, Circular Dichroism, surface plasmon resonance

Important references

• Birkmann E., Sch&uaml;fer O, Weinmann N., Dumpitak C., Beekes M., Jackman R., Thorne L., Riesner D. (2006) Detection of prion particles in samples of BSE and scrapie by fluorescence correlation spectroscopy without proteinase K digestion. Biol Chem. 387, 95-102
• Birkmann E., Henke F., Weinmann N., Dumpitak C., Funke SA., Willbold D., Riesner D. (2007) Counting of single prion particles bound to a capture-antibody surface (surface-FIDA) Vet. Microbiol. 123, 294-304
• Stöhr J., Weinmann N., Wille H., Kaimann K., Nagel-Steger L., Birkmann E., Panza G., Prusiner SB., Eigen M. & Riesner D. (2008) Mechanisms of prion protein assembly into amyloid, Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A., 105(7): 2409-2414
• Birkmann E. & Riesner D., (2008) Prion infection – seeded fibrillization or more?, Prion, 2 (2), 67-72
• Panza G., St&uoml;hr J., Dumpitak C., Papathanassiou D., Weiss J., Riesner D., Willbold D., Birkmann E. (2008), Spontaneous and BSE-prion-seeded amyloid formation of full length recombinant bovine prion protein, Biochem Biophys Res Commun. ;373(4):493-7.