Prof. Dr. Britta Brügger

Britta Brügger

Biochemie-Zentrum der Universität Heidelberg (BZH)
Im Neuenheimer Feld 328
69120 Heidelberg
Phone: +49 (6221) 54-5326
E-mail: Britta.Bruegger@bzh.uni-heidelberg.de


Research Area

Molecular Cell Biology, Biochemistry, Chemical Biology


Position and Status

Professor of Biochemistry / Chemical Biology (W3)


Scholarships and awards

2015 - Walter A. Shaw Young Investigator Award in Lipid Research
2000 - 2002 - Postdoctoral fellowship (Peter and Traudl Engelhorn Program)
1998 - 2000 - Postdoctoral fellowship (EMBO long-term fellowship)
1998 - Ph.D. degree with summa cum laude



University training and degree

09/1993 - 06/1994 - Diploma thesis with Hans-Dieter Söling at Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
10/1988 - 08/1993 - Study of Biology (Vordiplom) and Biochemistry (Diplom) at Johann Wolfgang von Goethe University Frankfurt

 

Advanced academic qualifications

12/2006 - Habilitation (venia legendi) in Biochemistry, Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg; Mentor: Felix T. Wieland
10/1998 - PhD. in Biochemistry (Dr. phil. nat.), Johann Wolfgang von Goethe University Frankfurt, Mentor: Felix Wieland, Heidelberg University

 

Postgraduate professional career

10/2014 - present - Professor of Biochemistry/Chemical Biology at Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center, Faculty of Biosciences
05/2002 - 09/2014 - Research Fellow at the Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center
05/2000 - 04/2002 - Post-doctoral research fellow with Felix T. Wieland at the Heidelberg University Biochemistry Center
06/1998 - 04/2000 - Post-doctoral research fellow with James E. Rothman at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, New York, USA

Coordinating functions and editorial work

2016 - present - Member of the DFG review board Life Sciences - Biochemistry
2014 - 09/2019 - Dean of Studies, Biochemistry
2009 - present - Section Editor, BBA Molecular and Cell Biology of Lipids
2010 - present - Vice-Chair of CRC/Transregio 83 "Molecular Architecture and Cellular Functions of Lipid/Protein Assemblies"

Most important publications

  1. Kale, D., Kikul, F., Phapale, P., Beedgen, L., Thiel, C. & Brügger, B. Quantification of Dolichyl Phosphates Using Phosphate Methylation and Reverse-Phase Liquid Chromatography–High Resolution Mass Spectrometry. Analytical Chemistry 95, 3210-3217 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.analchem.2c03623
  2. Nůsková, H., Serebryakova, M. V., Ferrer-Caelles, A., Sachsenheimer, T., Lüchtenborg, C., Miller, A. K., Brügger, B., Kordyukova, L. V. & Teleman, A. A. Stearic acid blunts growth-factor signaling via oleoylation of GNAI proteins. Nature Communications 12, 4590 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-24844-9
  3. Malek, M., Wawrzyniak, A. M., Koch, P., Lüchtenborg, C., Hessenberger, M., Sachsenheimer, T., Jang, W., Brügger, B. & Haucke, V. Inositol triphosphate-triggered calcium release blocks lipid exchange at endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi contact sites. Nature Communications 12, 2673 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-22882-x
  4. Kupke, T., Klare, J. P. & Brügger, B. Heme binding of transmembrane signaling proteins undergoing regulated intramembrane proteolysis. Communications Biology 3, 73 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-020-0800-0
  5. Hammerschmidt, P., Ostkotte, D., Nolte, H., Gerl, M. J., Jais, A., Brunner, H. L., Sprenger, H.-G., Awazawa, M., Nicholls, H. T., Turpin-Nolan, S. M., Langer, T., Krüger, M., Brügger, B. & Brüning, J. C. CerS6-Derived Sphingolipids Interact with Mff and Promote Mitochondrial Fragmentation in Obesity. Cell 177, 1536-1552.e1523 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2019.05.008
  6. Gerl, M. J., Sachsenheimer, T., Grzybek, M., Coskun, Ü., Wieland, F. T. & Brügger, B. Analysis of Transmembrane Domains and Lipid Modified Peptides with Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization-Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometry. Analytical Chemistry 86, 3722-3726 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1021/ac500446z
  7. Contreras, F. X., Ernst, A. M., Haberkant, P., Björkholm, P., Lindahl, E., Gönen, B., Tischer, C., Elofsson, A., von Heijne, G., Thiele, C., Pepperkok, R., Wieland, F. & Brügger, B. Molecular recognition of a single sphingolipid species by a protein’s transmembrane domain. Nature 481, 525-529 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchembio.902
  8. Trajkovic, K., Hsu, C., Chiantia, S., Rajendran, L., Wenzel, D., Wieland, F., Schwille, P., Brügger, B. & Simons, M. Ceramide Triggers Budding of Exosome Vesicles into Multivesicular Endosomes. Science 319, 1244-1247 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1153124
  9. Takamori, S., Holt, M., Stenius, K., Lemke, E. A., Grønborg, M., Riedel, D., Urlaub, H., Schenck, S., Brügger, B., Ringler, P., Müller, S. A., Rammner, B., Gräter, F., Hub, J. S., De Groot, B. L., Mieskes, G., Moriyama, Y., Klingauf, J., Grubmüller, H., Heuser, J., Wieland, F. & Jahn, R. Molecular Anatomy of a Trafficking Organelle. Cell 127, 831-846 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2006.10.030 
  10. Brügger, B., Erben, G., Sandhoff, R., Wieland, F. T. & Lehmann, W. D. Quantitative analysis of biological membrane lipids at the low picomole level by nano-electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 94, 2339-2344 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.94.6.2339