Group Leader

Portrait of Prof. Dr. Lukas Stelzl

© IMB Mainz

Prof. Dr. Lukas Stelzl

Positions held

Since 2024
Professor of Biomolecular Simulations, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and Adjunct Director, Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Mainz
2020 – 2024
ReALity Junior Group Leader and IMB Associate Group Leader, Faculty of Biology and KOMET1, Institute of Physics, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB), Mainz
2015 – 2020
Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Theoretical Biophysics, Max Planck Institute of Biophysics, Frankfurt am Main

Education

2015
DPhil in Biochemistry, University of Oxford, UK
2010
MBiochem, Molecular and Cellular Biochemistry, University of Oxford, UK

Postdocs

Xiaofei Ping
Xiaofei Ping

xiaoping@students.uni-mainz.de
Johannes-von-Müller-Weg 6
Nat.- and Med.-building: 1321
55128 Mainz
Room 00-125

PhD Students

Ritika Aggarwal
Ritika Aggarwal

I am interested in how the intrinsically disordered regions (IDRs) of E3 ubiquitin ligases recognize and recruit their substrates. I focus on HUWE1, a large HECT-type E3 ligase known for its unusually broad substrate range. I want to understand the molecular mechanisms that let HUWE1 bind so many different substrates, using all-atom and coarse-grained molecular dynamics simulations together with machine learning.

aggarwar@uni-mainz.de
Johannes-von-Müller-Weg 6
Nat.- and Med.-building: 1321
55128 Mainz
Room 00-125

LinkedIn
Lucia Baltz
Lucia Baltz

I use molecular dynamics simulations and machine learning-based contact analysis to study interaction patterns and dynamics during condensate formation.

lubaltz@uni-mainz.de
Johannes-von-Müller-Weg 6
Nat.- and Med.-building: 1321
55128 Mainz
Room 00-123

GitHub
LinkedIn
SFB1551
Denis Arribas Blanco
Denis Arribas Blanco

I am using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations to study the effect of small chemical modifications on protein-ligand binding, with particular interest in the role of water networks.

darribas@uni-mainz.de
Johannes-von-Müller-Weg 6
Nat.- and Med.-building: 1321
55128 Mainz

Jonas Paulus
Jonas Paulus

My research interest focuses on protein - ligand binding free energy, currently i am focusing on protein conformational changes and their impact in ligand binding.

jpaulu01@uni-mainz.de
Johannes-von-Müller-Weg 6
Nat.- and Med.-building: 1321
55128 Mainz
Room 00-125

GitHub
Leon Persch
Leon Persch

I use molecular dynamics and alchemical free energy perturbation (FEP) calculations to predict how mutations and ligand modifications affect binding free energies at atomic resolution.

lepersch@students.uni-mainz.de
lpersch@uni-mainz.de
Johannes-von-Müller-Weg 6
Nat.- and Med.-building: 1321
55128 Mainz
Room 00-125

LinkedIn
Cyrille Ngueldjou Tahabo
Cyrille Ngueldjou Tahabo

cngueldj@uni-mainz.de
Johannes-von-Müller-Weg 6
Nat.- and Med.-building: 1321
55128 Mainz
Room 00-122

Vasilis Xenidis
Vasileios A. Xenidis

My research interest lies in biomolecular condensate formation, which I study using all-atom molecular dynamics simulations and free energy methods applied to coacervate systems.

xenidisv@uni-mainz.de
Johannes-von-Müller-Weg 6
Nat.- and Med.-building: 1321
55128 Mainz
Room 00-123

LinkedIn
Bluesky
Mahesh Yadav
Mahesh Yadav

mahesh.yadav@uni-mainz.de
Staudingerweg 9
Phys.- and Mat.-building: 2413
55128 Mainz
Room 01-517

Webpage
Emanuele Zippo
Emanuele Zippo

I use coarse-grained molecular dynamics to study how nonequilibrium phosphorylation–dephosphorylation reactions and enzyme localization couple molecular interactions to the phase separation and dynamics of TDP-43 condensates.

zippoema@uni-mainz.de
Johannes-von-Müller-Weg 6
Nat.- and Med.-building: 1321
55128 Mainz
Room 00-123

Github
LinkedIn

Master Students

NameMaster thesis
Olga CorradoExploring the Effect of Post-Translational Modifications on TDP-43 Phase Separation
Christian FabriExtending Neural Network-Based Backmapping for Post-Translationally Modified Protein Condensates
Theresa HuntemannHierachcial contact analysis of biomolecules condensates based on interface dynamics.
Sergios Leftheriotis
Antonia Preuß
Moxian QianStochastic Path Sampling for Protein Conformational Ensembles
Minoo RostamiAntimicrobial peptides interacting with bacterial membranes
Joshua ZeitvogelCoarse-grained simulation of nucleosomes, condensates and their interaction with proteins
Rebecca Ziora

Bachelor Students

NameBachelor thesis
Beyza Bulut
Dennis MartinMolecular Dynamics Studies on the Mechanism of Action of Fludioxonil in the MoHik1p Signal Transduction System of Magnaporthe oryzae
Jim RothIntramolecular Contacts and Conserved-Region Helicity in TDP-43

Student Research Assistants

Name
Philip Frederic Mundt

Alumni

NameResearch interestContact
Kumar Gauravkugaurav@uni-mainz.de
Arya Changiarath Sivadasan