Fischer, Utz, Prof. Dr.
Utz Fischer was born on October 12, 1964, in Berlin. He is chair of Biochemistry I at Würzburg University and an associate member of the Helmholtz Institute for RNA-based Infection Research.
Following a degree in biochemistry at the Free University of Berlin, he completed his doctorate in Prof. Reinhard Lührmann’s lab at the Institute of Molecular Biology and Tumor Research at Philipps University Marburg (1989–1992). There, he continued his research as a postdoc (1992–1995) before joining the Howard Hughes Medical Institute at the University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, USA) as a DKFZ Fellow (AIDS Scholar) in Prof. Gideon Dreyfuss’s group (1995 to 1997). From 1997 to 2003, he led an independent research group at Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Martinsried before accepting a position as chair of Biochemistry I at Würzburg University’s Biocenter in 2003.
Phone: +49 931 - 31 84029
E-mail: utz.fischer@uni-wuerzburg.de
Room: B128
Curriculum vitae
Name | Prof. Dr. Utz Fischer |
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Position | Professor and Chair of Biochemistry I | ||||||
Affiliation
| Theodor-Boveri-Institute, Biocenter | ||||||
Career | 1983-1988 | Degree in Biochemistry at the Free University of Berlin, Germany | |||||
| 1989-1992 | Dissertation at the Philipps-University Marburg in the group of Prof. R. Lührmann | |||||
| 1992-1995 | Post-Doc, Institute of Molecular Biology and Tumor Research, University of Marburg, Germany | |||||
| 1995-1997 | AIDS Scholar at the HHMI, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia (PA, USA) | |||||
| 1997-2003 | Group leader at the MPI of Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany | |||||
| since 2003 | Professor and Chair of Biochemistry, University of Würzburg, Germany | |||||
| 2008-2009 | Speaker of the Biocentre/Theodor-Boveri-Institute, University of Würzburg, Germany | |||||
Research Fields | Structure and Function of macromolecular machines RNA-metabolism and neuronal diseases | ||||||
Professional Activities | Since 2007: Speaker of the DFG-Forschergruppe FOR855 “Cytoplasmic regulation of gene expression” | ||||||
Awards | 2025 Member of the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) | ||||||
Publications
For a complete list of publications, see Google Scholar.
Key publications:
The Ribosome Cooperates with the Assembly Chaperone pICln to Initiate Formation of snRNPs.
Paknia E, Chari A, Stark H, Fischer U.
Cell Reports 16(12):3103-3112 (2016)
Reconstitution of the human U snRNP assembly machinery reveals stepwise Sm protein organization
Neuenkrichen, N., Englbrecht, C., Ohmer, J., Ziegenhals, T., Chari, A., and Fischer, U.
EMBO Journal 34(14):1925-41 (2015)
Structural Basis of Assembly Chaperone- Mediated snRNP Formation
Grimm C, Chari A, Pelz J, Kuper J, Kisker C, Diederichs K, Stark H, Schindelin H, Fischer U
Molecular Cell 49(4):692-703 (2013)
Intronic miR-26b controls neuronal differentiation by repressing its host transcript, ctdsp2
Dill H, Linder B, Fehr A, Fischer U
Genes & Development 26(1):25-30 (2012)
An assembly chaperone collaborates with the SMN complex to generate spliceosomal SnRNPs
Chari A, Golas M, Neuenkirchen N, Klingenhäger M, Sander B, Englbrecht C, Sickmann A, Stark H, Fischer U
Cell 135:497-509 (2008)
Reduced RNP assembly causes motor axon degeneration in an animal model for spinal muscular atrophy
Winkler C, Eggert C, Gradl D, Meister G, Giegerich M, Wedlich D, Fischer U
Genes & Development 19:2320-2330 (2005)
A multiprotein complex mediates the ATP-dependent assembly of spliceosomal U snRNPs
Meister G, Bühler D, Pillai R, Lottspeich F, Fischer U
Nature Cell Biology 3:945-949 (2001)
The SMN-SIP1 complex has an essential role in spliceosomal U snRNP biogenesis
Fischer U, Lui Q, Dreyfuss G
Cell 90:1023-1029 (1997)
The HIV-1 Rev activation domain is a nuclear export signal that accesses an export pathway used by specific cellular RNAs
Fischer U, Huber J, Boelens W, Mattaj IW, Lührmann R
Cell 82, 475-483(1995)
Fischer, U. and Lührmann, R.
An essential signalling role for the m3G cap in the transport of U1 snRNP to the nucleus.
Science 249: 786-790 (1990)
Key reviews:
Chari, A. und Fischer, U.
Cellular strategies for the assembly of molecular machines.
Trends in Biochemical Sciences (TIBS) 35(12):676-83 (2010)
Gehring N, Wahle E, Fischer U.
Decipering the mRNP code: RNA-bound determinants of post-transcriptional gene regulation.
Trends in Biochemical Sciences (TIBS), DOI:10.1016/tibs.2017.02.004 (2017)
