Integrative Virology

The Department of Integrative Virology, headed by Prof. Dr. Maya Topf, specializes in integrative modelling methods that help to elucidate the structures of large macromolecular complexes, especially viruses. They analyze protein-protein interaction networks, use AI-based approaches to predict and evaluate structural models and design experiments to test the models.

The department research approaches aim to bridge the gap between the molecular and cellular level by better interpreting experimental data. Currently,  the research focuses on data from cryo-EM, cryo-ET and mass spectrometry and is applied to herpesviruses and arenaviruses. Another topic is pore-forming proteins from the MACPF family and the development of methods for the docking of small molecules.