Seminar Announcement – Alexander von Appen

Speaker: Dr. Alexander von Appen, Research Group Leader, Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics Dresden

Title: “Building a minimal nucleus to understand structure and mechanics of assembly”

Date: Tuesday, 16 June 2026

Time: 13:00

Room: B CUBE E73 + E74, Tatzberg 41, 01307 Dresden

Host: Research Training Group Biomolecular Condensates (RTG 3120)

Abstract: The nucleus, the largest organelle in human cells, plays a crucial role in protecting, organizing, and regulating our genome. Despite its complexity, it undergoes remarkable dynamics during cell division: as the cell enters mitosis, nuclear organization dissolves, leading to the detachment of the nuclear membrane from chromatin. The nucleoplasm and cytoplasm merge into a single entity, while the spindle distributes chromosomes to form daughter cells. Following this “open” mitosis, the entire organelle reassembles within minutes, prompting the central question: what molecular mechanisms drive nuclear self-assembly?

I will present our latest efforts to reconstitute nuclear self-assembly processes, which we study structurally using cryo-electron tomography and mechanically using optical tweezers. Specifically, I will show how ESCRT proteins assemble to close the nuclear membrane and how DNA is organized at the chromatin–nuclear membrane interface.