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Beat Fierz

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Beat Fierz
Beat Fierz in 2021
Born (1978-08-25) August 25, 1978 (age 46)
Basel, Switzerland
CitizenshipSwiss
Academic background
EducationMolecular Biology
Alma materUniversity of Basel
Doctoral advisorThomas Kiefhaber
Other advisorsTom W. Muir
Academic work
DisciplineBiophysical chemistry
InstitutionsEPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)
Main interestsChromatin
Websitehttps://www.epfl.ch/labs/lcbm/

Beat Fierz (born (1978-08-25)August 25, 1978 in Basel, Switzerland) is a Swiss chemist and molecular biologist, currently an Associate Professor at the EPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne).[1] His research is focused on understanding dynamic processes of large molecular systems, particularly in chromatin regulation.[2]

Career

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Beat Fierz studied molecular biology and biophysical chemistry at the Biozentrum of the University of Basel. After the diploma in 2002, he joined the laboratory of Thomas Kiefhaber at the Biozentrum for a PhD in protein folding and dynamics. There, he used nanosecond laser photolysis to observe initial steps in protein folding and secondary structure formation. After obtaining his PhD in 2006, he moved to Rockefeller University to pursue postdoctoral research. Working in the laboratory of Tom W. Muir, he developed methods to synthesize chromatin containing defined ubiquitin modifications. In 2012, he was appointed tenure track assistant professor for the Sandoz Foundation Chair at the Institute of Chemical Sciences and Engineering of EPFL.[3][4] There, he established a program to detect dynamic processes in chromatin regulation, combining chemical biology and biophysics methods. In 2019, he was promoted to Associate Professor at EPFL.[5]

Research

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As a postdoctoral researcher, Beat Fierz contributed to the understanding that chromatin ubiquitylation opens chromatin structure, increasing local chromatin accessibility.[6]

Beat Fierz currently heads the Laboratory of Biophysical Chemistry of Macromolecules (LCBM) at the School of Basic Sciences at EPFL. The LCBM is focused on obtaining a quantitative understanding of chromatin systems from a dynamic perspective. The laboratory develops chemical protein synthesis methods to generate and analyze modified chromatin.[7][8] Building on chemically defined systems, the LCBM has also developed single-molecule fluorescence methods to reveal chromatin dynamics, in particular structural motions in chromatin fibers, as well as dynamic interactions of chromatin regulatory proteins.[9][10][11][12] Research performed in Beat Fierz's laboratory has also helped elucidating key steps in gene repression via heterochromatin or PRC2.[9][13][14] These methodologies can also be applied for the study of DNA sensors such as cGAS, as well as gene regulation via transcription factors.[15][16][17]

Recognition

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Beat Fierz was awarded a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council in 2017, for the project "Chromo-SUMMIT", aiming to decode dynamic chromatin signaling by single-molecule multiplex detection.[18]

He is a member of the Biophysical Society, the Swiss Chemical Society[19][failed verification] and the Vice-President for the Life Sciences Switzerland (LS2) Section Biophysics.[20]

Key publications

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  • Kilic, Sinan; Felekyan, Suren; Doroshenko, Olga; Boichenko, Iuliia; Dimura, Mykola; Vardanyan, Hayk; Bryan, Louise C.; Arya, Gaurav; Seidel, Claus A. M.; Fierz, Beat (2018). "Single-molecule FRET reveals multiscale chromatin dynamics modulated by HP1α". Nature Communications. 9 (1): 235. Bibcode:2018NatCo...9..235K. doi:10.1038/s41467-017-02619-5. PMC 5770380. PMID 29339721.
  • Kilic, Sinan; Bachmann, Andreas L.; Bryan, Louise C.; Fierz, Beat (2015). "Multivalency governs HP1α association dynamics with the silent chromatin state". Nature Communications. 6: 7313. Bibcode:2015NatCo...6.7313K. doi:10.1038/ncomms8313. PMC 4557296. PMID 26084584.
  • Fierz, Beat; Chatterjee, Champak; McGinty, Robert K.; Bar-Dagan, Maya; Raleigh, Daniel P.; Muir, Tom W. (2011). "Histone H2B ubiquitylation disrupts local and higher-order chromatin compaction". Nature Chemical Biology. 7 (2): 113–119. doi:10.1038/nchembio.501. PMC 3078768. PMID 21196936.

References

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  1. ^ ORCID. "Beat Fierz (0000-0002-2991-3044)". orcid.org. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  2. ^ "Prof. Beat Fierz". www.epfl.ch. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  3. ^ Evangelista, Sandy (2012-04-06). "Eight Professors Appointed at EPFL". Retrieved 2021-04-04.
  4. ^ "Beat Fierz, Assistant Professor - NCCR Chemical Biology". NCCR in Chemical Biology. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  5. ^ "25 new professors appointed at the two Federal Institutes of Technology | ETH-Board". www.ethrat.ch. Archived from the original on 2020-11-22. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  6. ^ Fierz, Beat; Chatterjee, Champak; McGinty, Robert K.; Bar-Dagan, Maya; Raleigh, Daniel P.; Muir, Tom W. (February 2011). "Histone H2B ubiquitylation disrupts local and higher-order chromatin compaction". Nature Chemical Biology. 7 (2): 113–119. doi:10.1038/nchembio.501. ISSN 1552-4469. PMC 3078768. PMID 21196936.
  7. ^ Lechner, Carolin C.; Agashe, Ninad D.; Fierz, Beat (2016). "Traceless Synthesis of Asymmetrically Modified Bivalent Nucleosomes". Angewandte Chemie International Edition. 55 (8): 2903–2906. doi:10.1002/anie.201510996. ISSN 1521-3773. PMID 26806951.
  8. ^ Guidotti, Nora; Lechner, Carolin C.; Bachmann, Andreas L.; Fierz, Beat (2019). "A Modular Ligation Strategy for Asymmetric Bivalent Nucleosomes Trimethylated at K36 and K27". ChemBioChem. 20 (9): 1124–1128. doi:10.1002/cbic.201800744. ISSN 1439-7633. PMID 30615245. S2CID 58653023.
  9. ^ a b Kilic, Sinan; Bachmann, Andreas L.; Bryan, Louise C.; Fierz, Beat (2015-06-18). "Multivalency governs HP1α association dynamics with the silent chromatin state". Nature Communications. 6 (1): 7313. Bibcode:2015NatCo...6.7313K. doi:10.1038/ncomms8313. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 4557296. PMID 26084584.
  10. ^ "Protein Regulation of Gene Expression: Faster Better Than Stronger". GEN - Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology News. 2015-06-18. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  11. ^ Kilic, Sinan; Boichenko, Iuliia; Lechner, Carolin C.; Fierz, Beat (2018-04-18). "A bi-terminal protein ligation strategy to probe chromatin structure during DNA damage". Chemical Science. 9 (15): 3704–3709. doi:10.1039/C8SC00681D. ISSN 2041-6539. PMC 5935033. PMID 29780501.
  12. ^ "Déguiser l'ADN en guirlande lumineuse pour mieux l'étudier". Sciences et Avenir (in French). Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  13. ^ Bryan, Louise C.; Weilandt, Daniel R.; Bachmann, Andreas L.; Kilic, Sinan; Lechner, Carolin C.; Odermatt, Pascal D.; Fantner, Georg E.; Georgeon, Sandrine; Hantschel, Oliver; Hatzimanikatis, Vassily; Fierz, Beat (2017-10-13). "Single-molecule kinetic analysis of HP1-chromatin binding reveals a dynamic network of histone modification and DNA interactions". Nucleic Acids Research. 45 (18): 10504–10517. doi:10.1093/nar/gkx697. ISSN 0305-1048. PMC 5737501. PMID 28985346.
  14. ^ Choi, Jeongyoon; Bachmann, Andreas Linus; Tauscher, Katharina; Benda, Christian; Fierz, Beat; Müller, Jürg (December 2017). "DNA binding by PHF1 prolongs PRC2 residence time on chromatin and thereby promotes H3K27 methylation". Nature Structural & Molecular Biology. 24 (12): 1039–1047. doi:10.1038/nsmb.3488. ISSN 1545-9985. PMID 29058710. S2CID 8371565.
  15. ^ Guey, Baptiste; Wischnewski, Marilena; Decout, Alexiane; Makasheva, Kristina; Kaynak, Murat; Sakar, Mahmut S.; Fierz, Beat; Ablasser, Andrea (2020-08-14). "BAF restricts cGAS on nuclear DNA to prevent innate immune activation". Science. 369 (6505): 823–828. Bibcode:2020Sci...369..823G. doi:10.1126/science.aaw6421. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 32792394. S2CID 221113429.
  16. ^ "Research shows how a protein stops cells from attacking their own DNA". News-Medical.net. 2020-08-14. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  17. ^ Mivelaz, Maxime; Cao, Anne-Marinette; Kubik, Slawomir; Zencir, Sevil; Hovius, Ruud; Boichenko, Iuliia; Stachowicz, Anna Maria; Kurat, Christoph F.; Shore, David; Fierz, Beat (2020-02-06). "Chromatin Fiber Invasion and Nucleosome Displacement by the Rap1 Transcription Factor". Molecular Cell. 77 (3): 488–500.e9. doi:10.1016/j.molcel.2019.10.025. ISSN 1097-2765. PMC 7005674. PMID 31761495.
  18. ^ "ERC FUNDED PROJECTS". ERC: European Research Council. Archived from the original on 2021-01-13. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  19. ^ "Swiss Chemical Society - Swiss Chemical Society". scg.ch. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
  20. ^ "Biophysics - LS² Sections - LS²". www.ls2.ch. Retrieved 2021-03-03.
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