Jens Lüders – Group Leader
Jens obtained his PhD in Biology from the University of Heidelberg, Germany, and did his postdoctoral work with Tim Stearns at Stanford University, USA. During this time he investigated how cells spatially control the formation of new microtubules and identified NEDD1/GCP-WD as the long-sought-after targeting factor for the microtubule nucleator γTuRC. He showed that NEDD1/GCP-WD, through its targeting function, is required for microtubule nucleation at the centrosome and within the mitotic spindle. Since 2008 Jens is heading the Microtubule Organization Group at the IRB Barcelona in Spain.
Aamir Ali – Postdoc
Ilaria Dutto – Postdoc
Ilaria obtained a M.S. in Molecular Biology and Genetics at the University of Pavia, Italy, in 2011. During the PhD, she worked in the group of Ennio Prosperi at the Institute of Molecular Genetics CNR in Pavia to study the mechanisms responsible for DNA repair defects in Rubistein-Taybi syndrome, a rare disease characterised by microcephaly, short stature, intellectual disability and distinctive facial features. After receiving her PhD in Biomolecular Sciences and Biotechnologies at the Institute of Advanced Studies of Pavia in 2015, she joined the Lüders and Stracker Labs as a Marie Curie COFUND fellow. Currently, Ilaria is interested in finding new genes involved in brain size regulation.
Ilaria has a joint position with the Stracker Lab
Cristina Lacasa – Research Assistant
Marta Lovera – PhD Student
Marta graduated in Biotechnology from the University Pablo de Olavide (Seville, Spain) in 2015. During 2014-2015, she worked in the Neuroscience Division of the University Pablo de Olavide, where she studied learning behavior in a schizophrenia mouse model. After a short internship in bioinformatics (Cambridge, UK), she moved to Barcelona to obtain a Masters in Genetics. In 2016, she joined the Lüders Lab for her master thesis, where she continued as a PhD student. In her PhD thesis Marta is studying cellular mechanisms underlying microcephaly in humans.
Joel Paz – PhD Student
Joel graduated in Biology at Universidad de La Laguna in Tenerife, Spain in 2015. During his bachelor and master, he joined the group of Laura Sayas at the Faculty of Medicine in Tenerife, Spain, to address how CLASPs regulate HDAC6 in neuronal cells. After finishing his master in 2016, he joined the Lüders Lab as a PhD student. At the moment, Joel is focused on understanding how MTOCs are assembled.
Nina Schweizer – Postdoc
Nina graduated in Biology from the Humboldt University Berlin, Germany, in 2009. For her PhD, she joined the group of Helder Maiato at the Institute for Molecular and Cellular Biology in Porto, Portugal, to dissect how the spindle matrix controls mitosis in space and time. After receiving her PhD in Biomedicine from the University of Porto in 2015, she joined the Lüders Lab as an EMBO long-term fellow. Currently, Nina is interested in dissecting centrosomal roles of γTuRC.
Ricardo Viais – PhD Student
Fabian Zimmermann – PhD Student
