Arbeitsgruppe Prof. Monzel

Our group aims to understand the interplay of physical and biological mechanisms which give rise to cellular functions, in particular the generation of signals in cells. To this end, we investigate the cellular architecture and single molecule  dynamics in healthy and malignant cells as well as explore fundamental molecular and thermodynamic processes in biomimetic model systems. We employ and develop novel photonics and biophysical tools such as nanoparticle based magnetic manipulation (Magnetogenetics), single-molecule FRET, or Dynamic Optical Displacement Spectroscopy (DODS) in order to derive characteristic benchmarks of a biological process. Our ultimate goal is the transfer of our findings to biomedical applications for improved diagnostics and novel therapeutic approaches.