News 2025
November
Congratulations to Ghazal Sinjar!
October
Goodbye, Dennis Koch!
With heavy hearts, the Institute for Genetics bids farewell to Dennis Koch, who has been a tremendous asset to the secretariat over the past three years. We wish Dennis all the best for his future career in Marburg and look forward to seeing him again – outside the institute. Dennis, you were a wonderful, helpful, and always cheerful colleague; your departure leaves a big gap in our “Genetics family.”
September
GfG Symposium "Epigenetics & Chromatin"
From September 24 to 26, 2025, the annual meeting of the German Genetics Society (GfG) was held at the Justus-Liebig-University (JLU) in Giessen. This year’s focus was on the topic “Epigenetics & Chromatin.” The GfG organizers – Sandra Hake (President), Sigurd Braun (Vice President), Alexander Brehm, Patrick Heun, and Fides Zenk (all members of the advisory board) – were delighted with the strong participation of around 80 scientists from Germany and abroad (see https://www.gfgenetik.de/)
Over three days, the program offered a wide range of exciting presentations, including numerous unpublished studies that sparked lively discussions as well as intensive and collegial scientific exchange. Special highlights included the Max-Delbrück-Lecture by Prof. Dr. Peter B. Becker from LMU Munich, the Elisabeth-Gateff-Prize for the best dissertation awarded to Dr. Agata Kalita, and the many excellent flash talks and outstanding poster presentations.
Members of the Hake and Braun research groups were also strongly represented and presented their latest findings. Everyone is especially proud of Lena Paasche from Sandra Hake’s group, who won the €300 prize for the best short talk. We are all thrilled and warmly congratulate Lena on this fantastic achievement!
July
Student Internship No. 6 and “Jugend-forscht”
Once again this year, the school student internship in the Hake lab offered a successful combination of fun and exciting insights into scientific research. Six dedicated students had the opportunity to experience everyday lab work up close and to actively participate in various tasks. In addition, the Hake lab enthusiastically supported another student in developing her own project idea for the “Jugend-forscht” competition.
With such talented young scientists, we look to the future with confidence!
May
Sandra Hake and Sigurd Braun as invited speakers at the final IRTG 1064 “Chromatin Day” Symposium in Munich
Sandra Hake and Sigurd Braun were invited as alumni of the CRC 1064 “Chromatin Dynamics” to give talks at the “Chromatin Day” Symposium. It was a fantastic two days, filled with excellent scientific discussions and lots of fun during the barbecue and game night that followed. It was wonderful to see many friends and former colleagues again, especially the spokesperson of CRC 1064, Prof. Dr. Peter Becker!
Institute Excursion to the Senckenberg Museum in Frankfurt
This year, the Institute for Genetics – including the Braun, Dammann, and Hake research groups – visited the Senckenberg Museum. After a shared morning snack in Giessen, we took the train to Frankfurt to learn more about biodiversity, dinosaurs, extinct animals and plants, and many other fascinating discoveries during a guided tour of this wonderful museum. Afterwards, the day ended with refreshments and lots of fun in beautiful weather. It was a fantastic outing that we will fondly remember for a long time!
Welcome back, Dr. Tim Marius Wunderlich!
We are all absolutely thrilled about Tim Wunderlich’s return. After completing his outstanding doctoral thesis, Tim is rejoining the Hake research group as an Akademischer Rat a. Z., where he has truly been missed. This wonderful moment had to be celebrated with the whole team. Tim will actively support us in teaching, research, and organizational matters—including the upcoming move. Welcome back, Tim! We couldn’t be happier!
Welcome to our new Bachelor Students
We are happy to welcome our new Bachelor students Maja Gärtner, Tyra Grundig, Lea Gude, Alina Jakob and Larissa Probst at the AG Hake from the Institute for Genetics!!! We are sure, we will all have a great and productive time together!
March
Applause for Dr. KCFO!
We warmly congratulate Dr. Karl Christoph Frederic Olsen on the successful defense of his dissertation and an impressive doctoral examination!
Karl impressed both his examiners and all of us with his deep expertise, analytical precision, and passionate presentation of his research on heterochromatin, boundary elements, and the enigmatic demethylase Epe1.
The Braun Lab made the trip to LMU Munich and was there in person to celebrate this important milestone together with Karl’s family and friends.
We’re proud of you, Karl – and wish you all the best for the future!
February
Congratulations to Felix Diegmüller and Dr. Jörg Leers on the publication of their review in JBC!
Finally! The outstanding review article by Felix Diegmüller and Jörg Leers from the Hake research group has been published in the Journal of Biochemistry (JBC)! This article was written for a special issue in memory of the brilliant scientist and mentor C. David (Dave) Allis, who passed away unexpectedly in early 2023.
The review highlights Dave’s remarkable discoveries in the field of histone variants, with a special focus on the histone variant H2A.Z—a must-read!
As always, this success was celebrated with a "paper-hanging" ceremony together with the entire research group and friends.
Congratulations to everyone involved!
January
Congratulations, Tim Marius Wunderlich, on your excellent doctoral defense!
The Hake Group has welcomed a new Dr. rer. nat. into its ranks! Tim Marius Wunderlich defended his dissertation on ZNF512B with distinction. With his outstanding presentation, thorough answers to all questions, and comprehensive knowledge, he fully convinced the examiners Sandra Hake, Alexander Brehm, Oliver Rossbach, and Marek Bartkuhn. Simply fantastic, Dr. Wunderlich!
This wonderful achievement was, of course, celebrated appropriately with colleagues, friends, and family!
