"My heart beats for the young scientists," says Dr. Asifa Akhtar, Director and Scientific Member at the MPI for Immunobiology and Epigenetics in Freiburg since 2013. Born in 1971 in Pakistan, the biologist is the first female Vice President in the Biological-Medical Section. During her term of office, she will be in charge of the Institutes of this Section and will also be the contact person for the Max Planck Schools. She takes over from Bill S. Hansson, Director at the MPI for Chemical Ecology in Jena. With a "Travel Guide to the Max Planck Society" he has created a new and unconventional format that makes it easier for many to arrive in Germany and at the MPG.
Asifa Akhtar now wants to continue this tradition. “Academic science is a beautiful example of integration because you have people from all over the world exchanging knowledge beyond boundaries, cultures or prejudice,” says the Asifa Akhtar. She also wants to advance the issue of equality. “Gender equality needs to be worked on continuously. There are outstanding women in science and we should make all the efforts and use our resources to find them.” In addition, the new Vice President promotes transparent communication both internally and externally, wishes for more diversity in the Max Planck Society, and wants to advocate cooperation with local educational institutions.
Her research focuses on epigenetics and the signals controlling gene expression in drosophila and mammalian cells. Inside the CIBSS Cluster of Excellence she is studying the dual function of MOF histone acetyl transferase in epigenetics and metabolic control. This enzyme is well known for its function in changing the way genetic information is read by the cellular machinery and is influenced by a variety of signals. Working with drosophila, she and her team found the enzyme in the nucleus of cells. However, in mammalian cells, the researchers discovered MOF in mitochondria as well where it also influences the gene expression. Mitochondria play an essential part in the metabolism of cells. In her CIBSS project she and her team want to find out what role MOF plays in the different parts of the cells and how metabolism and epigenetics are intertwined.
Her lab is located at the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics (MPI-IE) in Freiburg. The MPI-IE is an interdisciplinary research institution that conducts basic research in two key areas of modern biology and part of the Max Planck Society. The MPI-IE is an official partner of CIBSS and the cooperation of the University of Freiburg and the MPI-IE researchers inside the Cluster of Excellence is an important pillar for the realization of its research program.
More Information on Asifa Akhtar in this video: https://lt.org/publication/how-does-enzyme-mof-work-molecular-bridge-between-epigenetics-and-metabolism
Orginal press release by MPG https://www.ie-freiburg.mpg.de/5298194/news_publication_15105526_transferred?c=723600