A complex illustration showing a molecular structure with an ant and plant, connected by lines, alongside temperature icons indicating heat and cold.

Max Planck Fellow Group Signaling Dynamics

Making molecular decisions in a complex world

Living organisms constantly face changing environments. Temperature shifts, osmotic stress, or fluctuations in pH require rapid and coordinated responses. At the core of these processes are molecular sensors that detect external signals and translate them into cellular and behavioral outcomes. We investigate how such signaling processes operate across biological scales—from changes in receptor structure and dynamics, to intracellular responses such as calcium influx, and ultimately to organismal behavior.

A central question of our research is how cells integrate multiple environmental inputs. In natural settings, organisms are rarely exposed to a single signal in isolation. Instead, they must process diverse and sometimes conflicting information simultaneously. At the molecular level, this integration is far from trivial. Signals do not simply add up; they can amplify, dampen, or qualitatively transform one another. Understanding how this form of “decision-making” is encoded in proteins remains one of the key challenges in modern biology.

Microscopic view of glowing microorganisms, displaying green and red fluorescence against a dark background, suggesting cellular activity. — Flagellated single-cell parasite *Trypanosoma brucei* in its bloodstream form (37 °C).

© Marta Bogacz

Flagellated single-cell parasite *Trypanosoma brucei* in its bloodstream form (37 °C).

© Marta Bogacz

The group focuses in particular on ion channels—proteins that enable rapid cellular responses and are essential for both immediate reactions and long-term adaptation. A central goal is to understand how insects sense temperature and how pathogens transmitted by insect vectors adjust to changing host environments, including shifts in temperature, nutrient availability, and immune responses such as redox stress and fever.

To address these questions, we combine approaches from structural biology, biophysics, and computational analysis. In close collaboration with researchers in neuroethology and ecology, our work aims to connect molecular mechanisms to organismal behavior and interactions within complex environments.

By uncovering how biological systems sense, integrate, and respond to environmental signals, our research seeks to provide fundamental insights into how living systems function in a changing world.