Rafie Lab

I began my undergraduate studies in October 2007 at TU Dortmund University in Germany, pursuing a BSc degree in Chemical Biology. Subsequently, I continued my education at TU Dortmund for my MSc degree. During this time, I had the opportunity to work in the lab of Daan van Aalten at the University of Dundee in Scotland, where I dedicated myself to expanding my knowledge in the field of macromolecular x-ray crystallography of proteins and structure-guided inhibitor development.

Inspired by my experience in Dundee, I decided to pursue a Ph.D. in the lab of Daan van Aalten, focusing on understanding how the O-GlcNAc transferase (OGT), an essential eukaryotic glycosyl transferase, recognizes its diverse range of substrates and to use this knowledge for structure-guided inhibitor/drug development.

After my Ph.D., I sought to transition into the field of infection biology and cryogenic electron microscopy. As a result, I joined the lab of Lars-Anders Carlson at Umeå University in May 2018, to work on elucidating the mechanisms underlying alphaviral genome replication. In addition, in a collaboration with colleagues in Umeå, I solved the structure of human adenovirus F41, a causative agent of diarrhoea and childhood mortality. This breakthrough revealed substantial differences in the viral capsid architecture, shedding light on the virus’s ability to recognize and infect specific host cells.

In September 2023 I started my own research group at the Department of Molecular Pharmacology at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands. In my lab, we aim to elucidate the mechanisms through which viruses modify mitochondria to facilitate viral replication. Our comprehensive approach combines x-ray crystallography, cryo-EM, and in situ cryo-ET with techniques from biochemistry, cell biology, and virology. The knowledge gained from our studies will contribute to the development of novel antiviral strategies.

Curriculum vitae

Education and key qualifications

31/01/2018     PhD in Structural Biology and Protein Biochemistry

                     Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression, University of Dundee, Scotland

                     Prof. Daan Van Aalten

2013             Master of Sciences in Chemical Biology

                     Faculty of Chemical Biology and Chemistry, TU Dortmund University, Germany

Current position(s)

2023 – present Tenure-track Assistant Professor – Pharmacology of host-pathogen interactions

Department of Molecular Pharmacology, Groningen Research Institute of Pharmacy, Faculty of Science and Engineering, Rijksuniversiteit Groningen, The Netherlands

Previous position(s)

2018 – 2023    Postdoctoral Research Fellow

                     Department of Medical Biochemistry and Biophysics, Umeå University, Sweden

2017 – 2018    Research Fellow

                     Centre for Gene Regulation and Expression, University of Dundee, Scotland