Clemens Plaschka
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Clemens Plaschka | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 1989 (age 36–37) Vienna, Austria |
| Citizenship | Austrian |
| Education | Imperial College London; LMU Munich |
| Known for | RNA maturation |
| Awards | Eppendorf Award for Young European Investigators, EMBO Member |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Molecular biology |
| Institutions | Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) |
| Doctoral advisor | Patrick Cramer |
| Website | https://www.imp.ac.at/groups/clemens-plaschka |
Clemens Plaschka (born 1989) is an Austrian molecular biologist and Senior Group Leader at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) at the Vienna Biocenter. His research focuses on gene expression, particularly the biogenesis, processing, and nuclear export of messenger RNA (mRNA). His work integrates structural biology, biochemistry, genomics, and imaging approaches to study the molecular machines and mechanisms responsible for making RNA, including the spliceosome and assemblies involved in mRNA nuclear export.[1][2]
Plaschka was born and raised in Vienna, Austria.[2] He studied biochemistry at Imperial College London. He carried out doctoral research at LMU Munich and the Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry in Göttingen in the laboratory of Patrick Cramer, where he investigated the mechanisms of gene activation and transcription.[1][2]
He later carried out postdoctoral research at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge in the group of Kiyoshi Nagai. There he investigated the mechanisms of RNA splicing and contributed to structural studies of the spliceosome, the large ribonucleoprotein complex responsible for removing introns from precursor mRNA.[1][2]
Research and career
In 2018, Plaschka established an independent research group at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna.[1][3] His laboratory studies the production, processing, quality control, and nuclear export of mRNA in eukaryotic cells, processes essential for gene expression.[4]
The Plaschka group uses methods including cryo-electron microscopy, X-ray crystallography, endogenous purification, biochemical reconstitution, next-generation sequencing, mass spectrometry, and super-resolution microscopy to examine the macromolecular complexes involved in RNA maturation.[4] Plaschka and his collaborators have made important contributions to mechanistic studies of splicing and the packaging and export of mRNA from the nucleus. They have also contributed to research indicating that mRNAs adopt compact ultrastructures prior to nuclear export, contributing to models of mRNA maturation and quality control.[1][2]
In 2025, Plaschka was promoted to Senior Group Leader at the IMP.[1][2]
