Kontakt
Ludwig-Maximilians Universität München
Großhaderner Str. 2-4
82152 Planegg-Martinsried
Germany
Research Interests
I am interested in questions concerning ultrafast processes in biology and photochemistry. The "speed limit" of chemical processes is given by vibrational frequencies of molecules on the femtosecond to picosecond time scale (1 fs = 10-15 s). This time scale can be addressed with modern laser technology allowing "real time" information on molecular systems. Therefore we apply and design elaborated femtosecond techniques to look at diverse chemical processes.
One of my main research topics is on the investigation of photophysical and photochemical processes in nucleic acids. Ultraviolet radiation can trigger the formation of photo-lesions and mutations in DNA, which can result in severe diseases, most notably skin carcinomas.
Knowledge of this processes is not only of fundamental importance for the understanding of mutation patterns in the genome but also for an understanding of the evolution of the genetic code without a preserving ozone layer on a primordial earth.
Curriculum vitae
Since 2019 Guest Researcher at the Faculty of Biology (AG Cordes), LMU München, GER
2018 Habilitation in Physics, Faculty of Physics, LMU München, GER
Since 2012 Patent examiner at the German Patent Office (DPMA), München, GER
2011-2012 Postdoc in Biophysics with Wolfgang Zinth, Chair for BioMolekular Optics, Faculty of Physics, LMU München, GER
2010-2011 Feodor-Lynen-Fellow in Biophysics with Bern Kohler, Department of Chemistry, Montana State University, USA
2008-2010 Postdoc in Biophysics with Wolfgang Zinth, Chair for BioMolekular Optics, Faculty of Physics, LMU München, GER
2003-2008 PhD (Dr. rer. nat.) in Biophysics with Wolfgang Zinth, Chair for BioMolekular Optics, Faculty of Physics, LMU München, GER
1996-2002 Study of Physics (Dipl. Chem.), Faculty of Physics, LMU München, GER
Key publications
• Schreier, W. J., Gilch, P., & Zinth, W. (2015). Early Events of DNA Photodamage. Annual Review of Physical Chemistry, 66(1).
• Pilles, B. M., Bucher, D. B., Liu, L., Clivio, P., Gilch, P., Zinth, W., & Schreier, W. J. (2014). Mechanism of the Decay of Thymine Triplets in DNA Single Strands. J. Phys. Chem. Lett., 5(9), 1616-1622.
• Haiser, K., Fingerhut, B.P., Heil, K., Glas, A., Herzog, T.T., Pilles, B.M., Schreier, W.J., Zinth, W., de Vivie-Riedle, R. and Carell, T. (2012) Mechanism of UV-Induced Formation of Dewar Lesions in DNA. Angewandte Chemie International Edition, 51, 408-411.
• Schreier, W.J., Schrader, T.E., Koller, F.O., Gilch, P., Crespo-Hernandez, C.E., Swaminathan, V.N., Carell, T., Zinth, W. and Kohler, B. (2007) Thymine dimerization in DNA is an ultrafast photoreaction. Science, 315, 625-629.