Looking back to 2025, it was a landmark year for the Department of Proteomics and Signal Transduction at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry. Despite the unfortunate phasing out of our group at the Center for Proteome Research in Copenhagen, our Munich laboratory achieved unprecedented scientific output while making tangible clinical impact, training the next generation of scientists, and receiving distinguished recognition for our contributions to the field.

Together with Tiannan Guo and Judith Steen, we recently published our view on exciting current technical developments and a path to further clinical applications of proteomics as review:

This year, we published 16 papers as last or senior author in leading journals including Nature, Nature Biotechnology, Nature Genetics, Nature Protocols, and Nature Communications. Our work spanned the full translational arc - from developing ultrasensitive sample preparation methods that push detection limits to single cells and nanoliter volumes, to deploying AI-powered software that democratizes proteomics analysis, to uncovering disease mechanisms with direct therapeutic implications.

A particular highlight was the immediate clinical translation of our spatial proteomics work. Following our 2024 Nature publication identifying JAK inhibitors as a treatment for toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN), this saw the first patients worldwide successfully treated with this approach - representing one of the first instances where spatial omics technology has directly changed patient outcomes. This exemplifies our laboratory’s commitment to ensuring that technological advances reach the clinic.

Check out the full list of research highlights 2025. For more information, visit our homepage or reach out on our social media accounts!