New Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research

Hinweis zur Verwendung von Bildmaterial: Die Verwendung des Bildmaterials zur Pressemitteilung ist bei Nennung der Quelle vergütungsfrei gestattet. Das Bildmaterial darf nur in Zusammenhang mit dem Inhalt dieser Pressemitteilung verwendet werden. Falls Sie das Bild in höherer Auflösung benötigen oder Rückfragen zur Weiterverwendung haben, wenden Sie sich bitte direkt an die Pressestelle, die es veröffentlicht hat.

Viktorija Glembockyte will become a new research group leader at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research. | Copyright: Viktorija Glembockyte, LMU Press Office | Download

“We are very pleased that we were able to recruit Viktorija for our institute. With her research in the area of nanoscale tools, she will enrich our work at the institute and the Heidelberg campus and further expand our research fields,” says Joachim Spatz, Managing Director of the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research (MPImF), welcoming the chemist, who is coming to the MPImF in Heidelberg from the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich. “I am sure that Viktorija will quickly establish a wide range of scientific contacts, both at our institute and in the regional scientific community.”

Exploring the nano world – molecule by molecule

Under Dr. Viktorija Glembockyte's leadership, the new Max Planck research group “Single Molecule Sensing” will work on unraveling the intricate details of molecular processes at the level of single molecules. The goal is to use DNA nanotechnology as well as single-molecule fluorescence and super-resolution microscopy to gain a deeper understanding of fundamental biological interactions and to develop tools such as biosensors and long-lived fluorescent labels to manipulate these processes.

DNA origami technique meets fluorescence imaging

“My approach is to combine two different but complementary methods: DNA
nanotechnology and single-molecule fluorescence imaging,” says Viktorija Glembockyte, and goes on to explain why: “DNA nanotechnology, and in particular DNA origami, offers a unique opportunity to build sensors and study the role of nanoscale organization. At the same time, fluorescence microscopy allows us to visualize and study these functions and their processes.”

Ideal environment for her research focus

After her last position at the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, Viktorija Glembockyte will now lead her own research group for the first time. There are several reasons why she chose the MPImF: “I can't imagine a better place than the MPImF in Heidelberg to pursue my scientific passion of developing new nanoscale tools for disease research,” says the Lithuanian-born scientist. “The institute is not only the workplace of many excellent scientists, but is also integrated into a fascinating regional scientific community. I am very much looking forward to networking here and establishing new collaborations.”

About Viktorija Glembockyte
Viktorija Glembockyte, born in Lithuania, studied chemistry at Constructor University Bremen – then Jacobs University Bremen – and completed her doctorate in 2017 at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, on “Photoprotection of Fluorophores Used for Single-Molecule Imaging: A Battle for More Photons”. After a short research stay as a postdoc there, she moved to the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich in 2018 to join the Department of Chemistry and Center for NanoScience, where she initially worked as a postdoc research fellow and has been a junior research group leader since 2022. From October 2024, she will head her own Max Planck research group “Single Molecule Sensing” at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research.

Weitere Informationen:
https://www.mr.mpg.de/14599619/single-molecule-sensing More information about Viktorija Glembockyte's new Max Planck Research Group