Göttingen Graduate Center for Neurosciences, Biophysics, and Molecular Biosciences

Oudelaar, A. Marieke, Dr.

Lise Meitner Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences


  • Since 2020 Lise Meitner Group Leader, Genome Organization and Regulation, Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry, Göttingen, Germany
  • 2018 – 2020 Junior Research Fellow, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
  • 2014 – 2018 Predoctoral fellow, University of Oxford, United Kingdom



Major Research Interests

Precise patterns of gene expression in metazoans are controlled by the cis-regulatory elements of the genome, which include enhancers and promoters. The spatial organization of the genome in the nucleus is important for accurate communication between these elements. Enhancers and promoters interact in 3D chromatin structures, which allow for specific communication between elements that are separated by large genomic distances. These enhancer-promoter interactions are important to establish accurate gene expression patterns during differentiation and development.

The aim of our research is to understand how 3D chromatin structures are formed and how the cis-regulatory elements function within this context to control gene expression. To this end, we develop high-resolution Chromosome Conformation Capture (3C) techniques, which we use in combination with other genomic techniques, genetic perturbations, and computational approaches. We focus on the interplay between genome organization and regulation during mammalian differentiation, and how perturbations in these processes contribute to human disease, including cancer.



Homepage Department / Research Group

https://www.mpinat.mpg.de/oudelaar


Selected Recent Publications


  • Oudelaar AM, Higgs DR (2020) The relationship between genome structure and function. Nature Reviews Genetics (in press).
  • Oudelaar AM, Beagrie RA, Gosden M, de Ornellas S, Georgiades E, Kerry J, Hidalgo D, Carrelha J, Shivalingam A, El-Sagheer AH et al (2020) Dynamics of the 4D genome during in vivo lineage specification and differentiation. Nature Communications 11: 2722.
  • Oudelaar AM, Harrold CL, Hanssen LL, Telenius JM, Higgs DR, Hughes JR (2019) A revised model for promoter competition based on multi-way chromatin interactions at the α-globin locus. Nature Communications 10: 1-8.
  • Oudelaar AM, Davies JOJ, Hanssen LLP, Telenius JM, Schwessinger R, Liu Y, Brown JM, Downes DJ, Chiariello AM, Bianco S et al (2018) Single-allele chromatin interactions identify regulatory hubs in dynamic compartmentalized domains. Nature Genetics 50: 1744-1751.
  • Davies JOJ, Oudelaar AM, Higgs DR, Hughes JR (2017) How best to identify chromosomal interactions: a comparison of approaches. Nature Methods 14: 125-134.