Lorenz, Sonja, Prof. Dr.

• 2003 Diploma in Biochemistry, University of Regensburg, Germany
• 2004-2008 Ph.D. Student, Laboratories of Iain D. Campbell & Martin Noble, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
• 2009-2013 Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Career Development Fellow, Laboratory of John Kuriyan, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
• 2013-2014 Howard Hughes Medical Institute, Research Associate, Laboratory of John Kuriyan, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA
  
• 2014-2020 Emmy Noether Group Leader, Rudolf Virchow Center for Experimental Biomedicine, University of Wuerzburg, Germany
• Since 2021 Independent Group Leader, MPI for Multidisciplinary Sciences, Goettingen, Germany

Major Research Interests
1. Specificity and regulation of ubiquitin ligases
2. Function of ubiquitin ligases in neurodevelopmental and infectious diseases
3. Therapeutic exploitation of ubiquitin ligases
Ubiquitination is a central posttranslational modification that dynamically decorates ~50.000 cellular protein sites with ubiquitin signals, thereby regulating myriad aspects of eukaryotic physiology. In additional, ubiquitin has recently been found conjugated to non-protein biomolecules, further expanding the signaling capacity of ubiquitination. The ubiquitin system is thus of immense interest to fundamental research and has emerged as a major arena for drug discovery. Our lab aims to establish paradigms of specificity in ubiquitination, focusing on the class of HECT-type ubiquitin ligases. We combine a wide spectrum of structural biology techniques – cryo-electron microscopy, X-ray crystallography, and NMR – with chemical biology, biophysical and cell-based imaging approaches. We utilize mechanistic insights for the development of small-molecule probes to interrogate ubiquitination activities in cells, providing entry points for therapeutic applications.

Homepage Department/Research Group
https://www.mpinat.mpg.de/de/lorenz

ORCID: 0000-0002-9639-2381