Cells are the basic unit of life and a very complex structure, in which a myriad of processes and biochemical reactions take place. Some of these processes need special conditions and are therefore spatially segregated into compartments. This segregation happens at many levels: even more specialized regions exist in bigger compartments and form very specialized niches.

The project of the young scientist Dr. Ayelén González Montoro from the University of Osnabrück aims to understand the mechanisms by which very small specialized compartments can be formed. By using genetics, fluorescence microscopy, synthetic biology and biochemistry, González Montoro plans to gain insight into how the cell can coordinate its processes and spaces.

Dr. González Montoro’s project is supported by the “Young Investigator Fund for Innovative Research Ideas” of the Schering Stiftung and the Fritz Thyssen Foundation from 2018 to 2019.