Professor Dr Thomas Carell

Research Priorities: DNA repair processes, epigenetic processes, nucleotide chemistry, origins of life
Thomas Carell is an expert in chemistry. His work on DNA repair and epigenetic processes offers major potential for cancer treatment, while his research into the origins of life have led to a new understanding of prebiotic chemistry. His interdisciplinary work ranges from organic chemistry to biology and medicine.
Thomas Carell’s work focuses on the chemical synthesis and modification of nucleic acids. As part of this work he develops new methods to chemically modify nucleic acids, including siRNAs and mRNAs. Synthesis is carried out in order to investigate DNA repair processes and epigenetic information storage in the genome. His research makes use of the latest mass-spectrometic methods, above all to quantify DNA damage and epigenetic bases. This work offers major potential for cancer treatment.
Another key aspect of Thomas Carell’s research involves discovering how epigenetic bases change during embryonic development and how these chemical processes in the genome guide and influence cell differentiation.
At the same time, another project in Carell’s working group investigates how molecules that were essential for the creation of life might have arisen on early Earth. The research has identified new, prebiotically plausible ways in which nucleic acids could have been created under the conditions of early Earth.
Thomas Carell approaches all these topics in an interdisciplinary manner, combining aspects of chemistry, biology, and medicine in particular.
Alongside this basic research, he is also interested in the synthesis of inhibitors for the various processes in DNA. This work is highly application-focused. The results could potentially lead to significant improvements in cancer treatment, as tumour cells require maintenance of epigenetic information.