Our group is interested in understanding the interplay between gene regulation and genome architecture, towards defining rules and principles of genome function.https://lab.styxlabs.net/https://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2026-07-09-a-single-cocaine-dose-alters-mouse/https://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2026-07-09-a-single-cocaine-dose-alters-mouse/Researchers led by Ana Pombo have found that just one exposure to the drug can create changes in mouse brain cells that persist for at least two weeks. Their findings were presented at the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies Forum on July 7, 2026.Thu, 09 Jul 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2026-06-02-ana-pombo-joins-johns-hopkins-as/https://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2026-06-02-ana-pombo-joins-johns-hopkins-as/The Baltimore laboratory opens with appointments in the Department of Biology and the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics. The Berlin laboratory continues at the Max Delbrück Center.Tue, 02 Jun 2026 00:00:00 GMThttps://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2025-10-08-five-berlin-based-leading-minds-honored/https://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2025-10-08-five-berlin-based-leading-minds-honored/Five scientists from the Max Delbrück Center have been named among the 100 most important minds in Berlin science in 2025 by the newspaper Tagesspiegel: Simone Spuler, Clara Vázquez García, Thoralf Niendorf, Gabriele Schiattarella and Ana Pombo.Wed, 08 Oct 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2025-05-22-millions-in-funding-for-two-clusters/https://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2025-05-22-millions-in-funding-for-two-clusters/The Max Delbrück Center is a partner in one newly awarded Berlin based Clusters of Excellence: ImmunoPreCept. NeuroCure has also won another round of funding. All researchers are working toward a common goal – to develop therapies that can intercept diseases on a molecular level.Thu, 22 May 2025 00:00:00 GMThttps://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2024-12-11-leibniz-prize-awarded-to-ana-pombo/https://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2024-12-11-leibniz-prize-awarded-to-ana-pombo/The German Research Foundation (DFG) has announced that biochemist Ana Pombo from the Max Delbrück Center is among this year’s winners of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize. With a grant of €2.5 million, the Leibniz Prize is one of the highest endowed research prizes in Germany.Wed, 11 Dec 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2024-02-11-celebrating-women-in-stem/https://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2024-02-11-celebrating-women-in-stem/Watch our videos: Twelve women, twelve careers – one conclusion: women and girls who are passionate about science should just go for it and not let anyone stop them. Because if you keep going, no obstacle will be insurmountable.Sun, 11 Feb 2024 00:00:00 GMThttps://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2023-06-19-new-tool-uncovers-complex-genome-interactions/https://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2023-06-19-new-tool-uncovers-complex-genome-interactions/Genome Architecture Mapping captures complex, multi-way interactions in the genome. This is different than the workhorse technique of 3D genomics, which sees mostly two-way contacts, finds a new study by a team led by Ana Pombo from the Max Delbrück Center, published in “Nature Methods”.Mon, 19 Jun 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2023-02-23-cracking-the-chromatin-code/https://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2023-02-23-cracking-the-chromatin-code/Chromatin factors are involved in regulating gene expression. If they do not function properly, this can result in neurological impairments. Ana Pombo and Alexander Kukalev are now receiving almost €400,000 from the DFG for a research project that aims to shed more light on how these factors work.Thu, 23 Feb 2023 00:00:00 GMThttps://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2021-11-17-genome-folding-in-the-mouse-brain/https://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2021-11-17-genome-folding-in-the-mouse-brain/A team led by MDC researcher Ana Pombo has deciphered the 3D structure of the genome in three cell types of the mouse brain. They not only discovered specific folding patterns but also found that very long genes almost completely lose their compact folded structure when most at work, as they report in “Nature”.Wed, 17 Nov 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2020-10-16-mdc-research-funded-by-nih-award/https://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2020-10-16-mdc-research-funded-by-nih-award/A large grant under the NIH’s 4D Nucleome Program supports MDC scientist Ana Pombo’s work as a member of a multi-team consortium led by UC San Diego in the U.S. The team will investigate how DNA organizes inside cell nuclei and functions in space and time.Fri, 16 Oct 2020 00:00:00 GMThttps://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2019-10-28-the-art-of-dna-folding/https://lab.styxlabs.net/news/#2019-10-28-the-art-of-dna-folding/Ana Pombo wants to understand the rules that govern our genome. This quest has led her to discover how important our genetic architecture is for the functioning of life. In the long term, she hopes her research will help understand diseases with complex origin such as autism and epilepsy.Mon, 28 Oct 2019 00:00:00 GMT