Jens Hör obtained his BSc and MSc degrees at the University of Bonn, focusing on various aspects of RNA biology. He subsequently moved to the University of Würzburg, where he joined Prof. Jörg Vogel’s research group.

 

In his doctoral studies, Jens focused on Grad-seq, a method for globally analyzing bacterial complexes. This unique approach not only allows the study not only of protein-protein interactions but also of RNA-protein interactions, whose global description has not hitherto been possible. Jens generated Grad-seq resources for two distant bacterial species, enabling researchers to search for their favorite RNAs and proteins. Using these datasets, he focused on the identification of new complexes, leading to the finding of a new toxic protein in Escherichia coli. He also discovered the unexpected stabilization of a set of regulatory RNAs by a ribonuclease in Streptococcus pneumoniae, leading to altered control of competence, which, among other things, is involved in virulence.

 

For his postdoctoral training, Jens will move to the Weizmann Institute of Science to work under the supervision of Prof. Rotem Sorek, focusing on understanding how bacteria defend themselves against their viruses.