Welcome Gökalp!
We are happy to welcome a new B.Sc. student to our lab: Gökalp Eroğul from Izmir Institute of Technology (Izmnir, Turkey). Welcome!
RNA in Mass-Spec
Have you ever considered how different proteins in RNA:protein complexes are visible depending on the ionization mode? See Henry’s work collaborating with Michael Landreh’s lab here: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsmeasuresciau.6c00134
The PetzoldLab received the ERC-AdG for the project DynaMech
We are thrilled to share that the European Research Council has awarded the Petzold Lab an Advanced Grant. This five-year project (DynaMech), will allow us to study the impact of RNA dynamics on cellular function, by measuring it directly in the cell.
Big congrats to Henry and Katja for acceptance of their NAR paper
Do you need RNase stable RNAs? Circularize them! The structure is maintained and often the dynamics too. AND – plot twist – if not, than you find that the otherwise boring A-form RNA helices actually have a function: Long-distance transport of dynamic information, otherwise called Allostery. Congrats Katja and Henry!!
Welcome Julian!
We are happy to welcome a new M.Sc. student to our lab: Julian Fischer from Goethe University (Frankfurt, Germany). Welcome!
New preprint: The A-minor Switch!
Imagine if one of RNA’s most common 3D contacts could switch off and on. In our preprint, we identified the A-minor switch that can reversibly “escape” their tertiary contacts, revealing a dynamic regulatory layer in RNA structure (shown by NMR & Cryo-EM and assayed in ribosomes). Read more: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.05.08.718354v1
HG / WCF equilibrium just got even more exciting
Enabling 1H R1ρ NMR measurements even when NOE’s are present allowed us to identify one more excited state in the Hoogsteen to Watson-Crick-Franklin equilibrium. Have a look here!
Welcome Adetutu!
We are happy to welcome Adetutu Oyinloye to the lab as a new Erasmus internship student. She will work on microRNA targeting. Welcome!
New paper published in PNAS!
We are happy to announce that our work recently got published in PNAS. In this study, we introduce a method to boost the sensitivity of RNA NMR by attaching a special spin label (AsymPol) directly to RNA. This enables selective signal enhancement, opening possibilities for studying RNA structure and function even at very low concentrations. Read more: https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2531087123
Postdoc position available!
We are also currently looking for a motivated postdoc to explore RNA regulation, microRNAs and RNA dynamics in a supportive, international research environment. Read more here! Application deadline: February 23, 2026