Pandemics and Alertness member WG1 (Understanding the virus), LINXS Fellow

Structural Virology PostDoc, Institute of Virology, Marburg University, Marburg, Germany

Anke Werner studied nutritional science with a focus on biochemistry and redox biology at the Justus-Liebig University in Giessen, Germany. During her PhD and postdoctoral research at the Institute of Virology in Marburg, she investigated protein–protein interactions and structure-guided drug design targeting the matrix protein of Ebola viruses. She established a robust crystallization and crystal-soaking pipeline for the identification of low-molecular-weight ligands using X-ray diffraction, with the aim of developing these into potent antiviral compounds. In addition, she employed X-ray crystallography to study the effects of various point mutations on protein structure and function. Her research interests center on integrating structural biology with high-containment cell culture and animal infection models under BSL-4 conditions, following the guiding principle: “from structure to function to inhibition.”