RTG 2756
Cytoskeletal elements of active matter – from molecular interactions to cellular biophysics (CYTAC)
The research training group (RTG) 2756 “Cytoskeletal elements of active matter – from molecular interactions to cellular biophysics”, based at the Georg-August University of Göttingen, is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) from January 2023 to December 2027. The cytoskeleton is a complex network of protein filaments of living cells. It is responsible for mechanical and dynamic properties of the cell and thus instrumental for many important cellular functions. The Research Training Group “Cytoskeletal elements of active matter – from molecular interactions to cellular biophysics (CYTAC)” is devoted to covering all length scales involved - from the level of individual molecules, through mesoscopic filaments and membranes, all the way to cells. Naturally, this research is performed in a highly interdicsiplinary manner and involves physics, physical and bio-chemistry, cell biology and mathematical data analysis.
RTG CYTAC Seminar in Winter 2024 / 2025
The Summer RTG CYTAC Seminar starts April 29, 2025.
Our guest speakers are:
April 29 - Benedikt Wirth
May 13 - Verena Ruprecht
May 27 - Antoine Jégou
June 10 - Peter Sollich
June 24 - Simone Reber
July 8 - Roberto Covino
July 22 - STATPHYS29 Special Talk
Read more about the topics of the RTG seminar series.
News and highlights
- March 2025: The joined symposium by RTG CYTAC and RTG ME3T (Aachen) took place in Göttingen. The symposium featured a dynamic mix of talks, poster presentations and vivid method discussions. We want to thank the dedicated organizers Ruben, Elena, Jannis, Eric, Hannah, Kyeongmin and Laura for making this event such a success!
- October 2024: Hendrik Bruns was awarded the Best Poster Prize of the ESRF User Meeting 2024 in Grenoble, France, for his outstanidng poster "Sarcomere, troponin, and myosin X-ray diffraction signals can be resolved in single cardiomyocytes". Same month, Hendrik received the Best Talk Prize at the Third Infinity Conference 2024 for his talk "X-ray diffraction resolving the structure of the contractile cytoskeleton in single cardiomyocytes". October has been a great month for Hendrik. Congratulations!
- October 2024: Laura Brinkmann was awarded the Poster Prize of "The Cytoskeleton as Active Matter" seminar in Bad Honnef, Germany. Participants enjoyed her presentation with the title "Structure and mechanics of strained membrane-bound F-actin". Congratulations!
- September 2024: The second RTG CYTAC retreat took place in Mariaspring near Göttingen. We enjoyed two days of presentations and focused discussions, as well as a cool biophysics treasure hunt created by the RTG students Pratima and Laura.
- September 2024: 'Gö Cytoskeleton Hackathon 2024' by CYTAC RTG and Alumni Göttingen took place in MPI-NAT. In a fun and collaborative environment, six student teams dove into the fascinating world of cytoskeleton biophysics, and two teams were awarded prizes for their simulation projects.
- July 2024: New publication by the RTG member Hendrik Bruns in Biophysical Journal. Congratulations!
- February 2024: The RTG CYTAC post-doctoral researcher Dr. Pallavi Kumari was selected for the prestigious and competitive Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellowship. Congratulations!
- February 2024: Excellent start of the year for Elena Todisco from the RTG CYTAC. Congratulations to her publication in Developmental Cell!
- October 2023: The first CYTAC Publication is out! Pallavi Kumari published The unique biomechanics of intermediate filaments – From single filaments to cells and tissues
... for more news and events, see our Events page