Professor Martin Eilers

Martin Eilers has been Professor of Biochemistry at the University of Würzburg, Germany, since 2009, having previously held faculty positions in Marburg. Martin has been interested in the biology of MYC proteins since his postdoctoral work with Michael Bishop at UCSF. The work in his laboratory focuses on the molecular mechanisms by which these proteins promote tumour development. He has made major contributions to the understanding of how MYC proteins are controlled by the cellular ubiquitin system. 

His recent work has uncovered critical and unexpected functions of MYC proteins in maintaining the genomic stability of tumour cells and in coordinating transcription with DNA replication, and shown how these can be exploited for new therapeutic approaches. These findings form the basis of his work in the KOODAC team, where he and his colleagues will now try to find drugs that redirect the ubiquitin system to degrade the MYCN oncoprotein, a member of the MYC family of proteins that drives the development of aggressive childhood tumours such as neuroblastoma