Wollnik, Bernd, Prof. Dr.

Professor of Medical Genetics

1988-1995: Studies of Medicine, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms University Bonn
1997: Post-doctoral Researcher, Center for Molecular Neurobiology, University Hamburg
1997-1999: Post-doctoral Researcher, Division of Medical Genetics, Istanbul University, Turkey
1999-2004: Foreign Lecturer, Division of Medical Genetics, Istanbul University, Turkey
2004-2012: Junior Research Group Leader, Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), Institute of Human Genetics, University Cologne
2012-2015: Associate Professor for Medical Genetics, Institute of Human Genetics, University Hospital Cologne
2013-2015: Director, Center for Rare Diseases Cologne, University Hospital Cologne
Since 2015: Director, Institute of Human Genetics, University Medical Center Göttingen

Major Research Interests
My key research interest is to discover novel genes and elucidate the molecular mechanisms underlying rare congenital syndromes. My group focuses especially on syndromes associated with primary microcephaly, e.g. Bloom syndrome or Seckel syndrome, and progeroid syndromes, i.e. disorders associated with premature or accelerated aging like, for example, Hallermann-Streiff syndrome or Wiedemann-Rautenstrauch syndrome.
We use next-generation sequencing (NGS) approaches and we have established an innovative bioinformatics pipeline and process for assessing and interpreting NGS data from whole-genome or whole-exome sequencing that brings together scientists and clinicians from different backgrounds to identify new causative genes for undiagnosed rare congenital diseases. By deep functional characterization of the involved gene products and molecular pathways, we unravel how they act in fundamental cellular processes such as DNA replication, chromatin structure & remodeling, transcriptional regulation or mitochondrial functions. Our findings expand our knowledge about the pathogenesis of these rare disorders and, at the same time, provide us with important new insights in the processes involved in physiological aging and in common age-related pathologies such as neurodegeneration, heart failure or cancer. By means of different cellular models and model organisms as well as iPS cells, we also investigate the role of somatic mutations in genomic instability and changes in gene expression profiles.

Homepage Department/Research Group
https://www.humangenetik-umg.de/forschung/arbeitsgruppen/ag-wollnik/

ORCID: 0000-0003-2589-0364