How do cells manage to precisely duplicate their genetic material, especially in conditions of DNA damage? The internationally renowned molecular biologist Prof Dr Dana Branzei has found ground-breaking answers to this question. She is researching how DNA repair and chromosome structure are perfectly intertwined. She was awarded a Humboldt Professorship 2025 by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for her outstanding research. On 1 April, she took up her professorship the Research Center One Health Ruhr (University Alliance Ruhr) and at the Faculty for Biology at the University of Duisburg-Essen.
Molecular biologist Dana Branzei's research shows that repair mechanisms and the structure of chromosomes are functionally intertwined in the context of the ongoing process of duplication of the genetic material.
‘My research centres on the replisome - the biochemical machinery of the cell that duplicates the genetic material and contributes to the establishment of chromosome structure,’ says Branzei. ‘I was able to show that this molecular ‘copying machine’ not only functions in DNA duplication, but also recognises and navigates past DNA damage using information from the undamaged DNA strand, a process critical to genome stability.’ Her work has uncovered the molecular choreography behind this DNA damage-bypass mechanism, resolving a long-standing mystery in cell biology. This is an important milestone for cancer research. It helps to understand why certain genetic changes increase the risk of cancer - and how treatments such as chemotherapy can cause undesirable changes in the genome.
‘With Dana Branzei, we are welcoming an outstanding scientist who will significantly strengthen the One Health Ruhr Research Centre with her expertise,’ says Rector Prof. Dr Barbara Albert. ‘We are extremely proud and happy to have gained a Humboldt Professor for the University of Duisburg-Essen.’
Science Minister Ina Brandes emphasised back in June 2024 when Branzei's nomination was announced: ‘I am thrilled about this award in three ways: For Dana Branzei, it is well-deserved recognition for her research work at a top international level. For the University of Duisburg-Essen, the Humboldt Professorship means a further boost in the fight against the widespread disease of cancer. And for the research state of North Rhine-Westphalia, it is proof of its strong attraction for scientists of worldwide renown. Here they find the conditions they need for successful research. No other state has awarded as many Humboldt Professorships as North Rhine-Westphalia.’
Romanian-born scientist Dana Branzei has worked at the AIRC Institute of Molecular Oncology (IFOM) in Milan, Italy, since 2008 and has been Research Director at the Institute of Molecular Genetics of the Italian Research Council (CNR) in Pavia since 2020. She previously studied and conducted research as a postdoctoral researcher in Japan and has since maintained close research collaborations in Asia. She has been an elected member of the European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) since 2016. Branzei has already received an ERC Starting Grant and an ERC Consolidator Grant and was recently awarded an ERC Advanced Grant.