Holger Wille

Dr. Holger Wille

Professor

Ph.D, Universität Hamburg (Hamburg, Germany)

Director,  Centre for Prions and Protein Folding Diseases

Office: 780-248-1712

 

Research:

The general focus of my work is the structure of amyloids and other disease-related, misfolded proteins. In particular, I am interested in the infectious prion protein (PrPSc) and the structure-function relationship underlying its infectious nature. In recent years, mounting evidence has implicated prion-like mechanisms in other neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Lou Gehrig's disease. The mechanistic similarities and their molecular underpinnings represent interesting research avenues beyond the classical prion diseases. The scope of my current experimental approaches is centered on electron microscopy, three-dimensional reconstruction approaches, X-ray fiber diffraction, and other biochemical and biophysical methods.

 

Selected Publications:

 Rational design of structure-based vaccines targeting misfolded alpha-synuclein conformers of Parkinson’s disease and related disorders.
Flores-Fernandez, JM, Pesch, V, Sriraman, A, Chimal-Juarez, E, Amidian, S, Wang, X, Duckering, C, Fang, A, Reithofer, S, Ma, L, Cortez, LM, Sim, VL, Tamgüney, G & Wille, H 
Bioengineering & Translational Medicine (2024) 9, e10665.

Garza MC, Kang SG, Kim C, Monleón E, van der Merwe J, Kramer DA, Fahlman R, Sim VL, Aiken J, McKenzie D, Cortez LM, Wille H.
Int J Mol Sci. 2023 Dec 15;24(24):17525.
  

The ultrastructure of infectious L-type bovine spongiform encephalopathy prions constrains molecular models.
Kamali-Jamil, R, Vázquez-Fernández, E, Tancowny, B, Rathod, V, Amidian, S, Wang, X, Tang, X, Fang, A, Senatore, A, Hornemann, S, Dudas, S, Aguzzi, A, Young, HS, Wille, H
PLoS Pathogens (2021) 17, e1009628

Full atomistic model of prion structure and conversion.
Spagnolli G, Rigoli M, Orioli S, Sevillano AM, Faccioli P, Wille H, Biasini E, Requena JR.
PLoS Pathogens (2019) Jul 11;15(7):e1007864. doi: 10.1371/journal.ppat.1007864. eCollection 2019 Jul.

The Structure of PrPSc Prions
Wille H, Requena JR.
Pathogens. (2018) Feb 7;7(1). pii: E20. doi: 10.3390/pathogens7010020. Review

Elucidating the structure of an infectious protein.
Zweckstetter, M, Requena, JR, Wille, H.
PLoS Pathogenss (2017) 13 Apr 13(4): e1006229.

The structural architecture of an infectious mammalian prion using electron cryomicroscopy.
Vázquez-Fernández, E, Vos, MR, Afanasyev, P, Cebey, L, Sevillano, AM, Vidal, E, Rosa, I, Renault, L, Ramos, A, Peters, PJ, Fernández, JJ, van Heel, M, Young, HS, Requena, JR, Wille, H. PLoS Pathogens (2016) Sep 8;12(9):e1005835

 

 

  

Lab Members

Graduate Students
Aishwarya Sriraman
Caleb Duckering

Postdoctoral Fellows
Aliza Borenshtein-Katz
Andrew Fang
Anthony Ness

Research Associate
Lyudmyla Dorosh
Xinli Tang
Serene Wohlgemuth

Technologist
Brian Tancowny
Peace Okebugwu


Links

Selected Publications

PubMed


Location

Office: 110C BARB

Lab: 110 BARB

Campus Map