Schwalb, Björn, Dr.
Research Associate at the Department of Molecular Biology at the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry
- Since 2014
Research Associate, Max Planck Institute of Biophysical Chemistry Göttingen
Department of Molecular Biology, with Prof. Dr. Patrick Cramer.
- 2012 -2014
Postdoctoral fellow, Gene Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich
Munich Center of Excellence, with Prof. Dr. Patrick Cramer.
- 2008 - 2012
Gene Center, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich
Munich Center of Excellence, Supervisors: Prof. Dr. Patrick Cramer and Prof. Dr. Achim Tresch.
- 2002 - 2008
Undergraduate studies in mathematics, at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt am Main.
Major Research Interests
Mechanisms and regulation of gene transcription: In our lab we recently developed transient transcriptome sequencing (TT-Seq, Schwalb et al. 2016 Science), a protocol that uniformly maps the entire range of RNA-producing units. Dynamic kinetic modeling allows extraction of parameters, such as synthesis- and decay-rate, initiation frequency and elongation velocity and their interplay. Our data-based mathematical model is supported by bias assessment, correction, validation and simulation studies. This allows us to monitor all transcription activity in living human cells by NGS (next-generation sequencing) measurements. We wish to understand how transcription activity changes over time given perturbations of the regulatory key events of the transcription cycle (Initiation, elongation, promoter-proximal pausing, splicing and termination), specifically also how regulatory regions of the genome, like enhancers, change their activity and contribution to changes in the global gene expression program.
Selected Recent Publications
- B. Schwalb*, M. Michel*, B. Zacher*, K. Frühauf, C. Demel, A. Tresch, J. Gagneur, P. Cramer. (* joint first authorship)
TT-seq maps the human transient transcriptome. Science. 2016/, Jun 3;352(6290):1225-8 (2016). - D. Schulz*, B. Schwalb*, A. Kiesel, C. Baejen, P. Torkler, J. Gagneur, J. Soeding, P. Cramer (* joint first authorship).
Transcriptome Surveillance by Selective Termination of Noncoding RNA Synthesis. Cell 2013, 155, 5, 1075-1087 (2013) - M. Sun*, B. Schwalb*, N. Pirkl, K. Maier, A. Schenk, H. Failmezger, A. Tresch, P. Cramer (* joint first authorship).
Global analysis of eukaryotic mRNA degradation reveals xrn1-dependent buffering of transcript levels Mol. Cell 2013, 52, 52-62 - M. Sun*, B. Schwalb*, D. Schulz*, N. Pirkl, S. Etzold, L. Lariviere, K. Maier, M. Seizl, A. Tresch, P. Cramer (* joint first authorship). Comparative Dynamic Transcriptome Analysis (cDTA) reveals mutual feedback between mRNA synthesis and degradation
Genome Research 2012, 22, 1350-1359 - C. Miller*, B. Schwalb*, K. Maier*, D. Schulz, S. Duemcke, B. Zacher, A. Mayer, J. Sydow, L. Marcinowski, L. Dölken, D. Martin, A. Tresch, P. Cramer (* joint first authorship). Dynamic transcriptome analysis measures rates of mRNA synthesis and decay in yeast Mol. Syst. Biol. 2011, 7, 458