Sascha Martens

We found that cells survive a proteostasis defect, but not the lipid imbalance it causes. Rer1 & the Dsc complex triage orphan membrane proteins at the Golgi. Lose both & DAG-rich multilamellar compartments (DMCs) form. Drain DAG & cellular architecture recovers. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

Happy to share my PhD work on the regulatory mechanism of E3 ligase RNF213! RNF213 is not a monomer, but a dimer that switches between inhibited and activated states in an ATP-dependent manner. We tracked the activation mechanism and showed how disease mutations can destabilize the inhibited state.

We’re recruiting postdocs! Join our Emerging Fields consortium to explore ribosome biology and translational control in pediatric cancers. My lab combines high-resolution Ribo-seq with unbiased genetic screens to uncover novel regulatory mechanisms. Deadline: 15 Nov 2026 lnkd.in/dmKJ7zbb

The ULK1 complex triggers autophagy on membranes, but with no typical membrane binding domains, how does it get there? See the answer in a brilliant collective effort out now in Science Advances: www.science.org/doi/10.1126/....

So well deserved Elias!!! Congrats!

🚨 Out now! Special delivery for autophagy: A new @natcomms.nature.com study from the Martens lab, led by first author Elisabeth Holzer, reveals how ATG2A and ATG8-like proteins deliver key lipids to build and expand autophagosomes ➡️ tinyurl.com/ycx9v759 @univie.ac.at @meduniwien.ac.at

New Online! Regulation and roles of mammalian mitophagy

Read our latest testimonial from @gzaffagnini.bsky.social from the @unicologne.bsky.social. He has been curating his report on cell biology of #oocytes since June 2024 and recently released his 100th issue. You can subscribe to his report by going to biomed.news/bims-cebooc

Please check out our new preprint! We find an unexpected role for #CASM in regulating p62 mediated activation of the KEAP1/NRF2 pathway to initiate a cytoprotective antioxidant transcriptional response. More functions for #CASM in responding to lysosome stress. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... 1/2

First ERC Synergy meeting with @martenslab.bsky.social and @jimhurley.bsky.social in Vienna, great start! Thanks Sascha for hosting 🙏 @erc.europa.eu

There is so much inspiring work going on in the Kraft and Martens labs. It was wonderful spending time with and getting to know the talented students and postdocs in your groups.

Take a look at this new paper in @science.org Reversible suppression of autophagy in a mouse model reveals neuronal resilience | Science www.science.org/doi/10.1126/...

Structural Mechanism and Cellular Restriction of Tau Seeding from Endolysosomes https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.06.08.731026v1

The Thermo Fisher situation keeps getting worse. We've now collected 450+ problematic images presented as verification data in TF's antibody catalog. This includes: 🖌️ Dozens more images with duplications or painting 🖨️ Hundreds of blots that all share the same background (behold slideshow below)

TL;DR: We've identified more than 100 cases of apparent manipulation in Thermo Fisher Scientific's antibody verification data. @sholtodavid.bsky.social @johanduchene.bsky.social reeserichardson.blog/2026/05/28/h...

New study published in Science! Led by @thevirusmc.bsky.social and @plantophagy.bsky.social, former group leader at the GMI of the @oeaw.bsky.social, the researchers set out to understand how autophagy – the cell’s clean-up and recycling system – mediates plant immune response to viral infection.

We hope this work SPARKs your curiosity (and your feedback)! ✨ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

@johanduchene.bsky.social @sholtodavid.bsky.social Spent the last hour looking, found ten more apparently manipulated Western blots in Thermo Fisher's antibody verification data (across eight different catalogued products). Thread below. www.thermofisher.com/antibody/pro...

A new preprint from the lab showing how Atg1 regulates the BLTP Atg2. This study was spearheaded by Sonja Achleitner and Susanna Tulli, involving a fantastic collaboration with @ainaraclaveras.bsky.social and Gerhard Hummer. @maxperutzlabs.ac.at @viennabiocenter.bsky.social @maxplanck.bsky.social

🚨 Paper Alert! In this new work published in @jcellsci.bsky.social we shift our focus on MTFR1L and the feedback loop linking mitochondrial fission, mitophagy and apoptosis. MTFR1L emerges as a critical coordinator of the fission and autophagy machinery. 🔗Find the paper here: doi.org/10.1242/jcs....

Exciting job offer: PhD Program Manager. Lead recruitment, support PhD candidates, and shape doctoral training at a top international life sciences campus. https://ow.ly/3YkN50YAuGM Institute of Molecular Biotechnology, Max Perutz Labs Vienna, IMP, Gregor Mendel Institute of Molecular Plant Biology

In this Perspective, North, @doroteaartscience.bsky.social, Shoemaker et al. highlight the rapidly expanding role of LC3-interacting regions in autophagy. rupress.org/jcb/article/... 📕 Part of #Autophagy 2026 👉 rupress.org/jcb/collecti... #GRC

📢 New #preprint from CRN Team Hurley! The team uncovers the mechanism of ATG2A-mediated lipid transport 🧬 Structural modeling and simulations show that N-terminal helices gate lipid transfer, and a designed mutant transfers lipids three times faster in vitro. 🔗 bit.ly/4rHuWpr

📢 New #preprint from CRN Team Hurley! The team uncovers the mechanism of ATG2A-mediated lipid transport 🧪 Structural modeling and simulations show that N-terminal helices gate lipid transfer, and a designed mutant transfers lipids three times faster in vitro. 🔗 bit.ly/3ZVAxw6

Really happy to see this one out: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... Alibek's drive & great coll w/ friends @gekaragoz.bsky.social & E. Hallacli resulted in a cool story that starts with our beloved #Marchantia and ends with iPSC-derived neurons 🤩🤪 A short 🧵

Why do pathological protein aggregates persist in cells and how can we overcome this? In our new preprint, we show that Tau aggregates fail to initiate selective autophagy and that their autophagic degradation can be restored. #Autophagy #Tau #Proteostasis Out now 👇 www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6...

More: www.imp.ac.at/news/article...

LLOMe has long been used to study lysosomal damage, yet how it works has remained a mystery. Using cryo-electron tomography, we show it forms amyloid structures inside lysosomes that mechanically rupture membranes – revealing a new paradigm for lysosomal failure. 🔗 doi.org/10.64898/202... #CryoET

We are excited to share our new preprint which is now available to read on biorXiv: doi.org/10.64898/202... 🎉🎉🎉

If you are interested in #ubiquitin related topics (Who isn’t???) & looking for a friendly and collegial meeting where you can talk to anyone & everyone, this is your meeting!

Join us for the #Ubiquitin & Friends Symposium 2026, April 29-30, in Vienna! Fantastic guest speakers👇 & many slots for talks from abstracts, flash-talks & posters. Lots of opportunities to network. Register now to save your spot! ➡️ www.protein-degradation.org/symposium/ #ubfriends2026

CRN Team Hurley developed AI-directed voxel extraction (AIVE), a segmentation strategy that refines AI-based organelle boundary predictions. Using AIVE, they identified a previously unknown mitochondrial contact termed the mitochondrial intrusion 🧪 🔗 Read the #publication: bit.ly/4qeZiOY

The ATG8 E3-like ligases sense lysosomal damage and initiate ESCRT-mediated membrane repair Dale Corkery, Yao-Wen Wu et al link.springer.com/article/10.1...

Glad to have this finally published: www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti... lots of new data since the #preprint. If you are into selective #autophagy, #evolution, #proteostasis Please have a look!

There are a couple of empty chairs at our table — want to sit with us? Reach out to me or any lab member www.oeaw.ac.at/gmi/research... We’ll be hiring two postdocs in 2026. We’re excited about ambitious and creative ideas and are committed to supporting future group leaders 1/2

✨ Passionate about cell biology or biochemistry? Join the Martens Lab as a postdoc to uncover why autophagy stalls at disease-linked protein aggregates - and how to restart it 🧠 Apply here ➡️ tinyurl.com/24dcrcke

Join us later today 👇

🌍Open call: Junior Group Leader positions! Join a world-class biomedical research institute at the heart of the Vienna BioCenter, where curiosity drives discovery. Lead your own lab, pursue bold ideas, and shape the future of science at the IMP: www.imp.ac.at/career/open-...

New pre-print out on the stepwise recruitment to membrane of the #autophagy ULK1 complex from the @mito911.bsky.social from @martenslab.bsky.social Ian Ganley @hummerlab.bsky.social @jimhurley.bsky.social labs with the generous support of @asapresearch.parkinsonsroadmap.org doi.org/10.1101/2025...

Congratulations! Claudine Kraft @kraftlabfr.bsky.social receives a prestigious ERC Synergy Grant – to find out why some protein #aggregates can be cleared by #autophagy and others not. She and her partners will harness this knowledge to improve autophagy in #ageing & #disease. 🔗  kurzlinks.de/50j8

Thrilled to join you and Claudine to study the cell's own version of Banksy's self-shredding artwork!

Fantastic teamwork with @kraftlabfr.bsky.social and @jimhurley.bsky.social! Looking forward to exciting discoveries ahead. Many thanks to @erc.europa.eu for funding our proposal. @univie.ac.at @maxperutzlabs.ac.at @viennabiocenter.bsky.social

Another opportunity to join @maxperutzlabs.ac.at ! If you're looking to start your own lab in a collaborative and supportive environment, I highly recommend it! www.nature.com/naturecareer...

📢 Open Call! The Max Perutz Labs invite applications for a Full Professorship in Integrative Structure Biology with a focus on in situ structural biology using cryo-electron tomography (cryo-ET) and related methods. More details ➡️ tinyurl.com/brswbymu

Our latest review is now online! 👇 @martenslab.bsky.social Mechanism of autophagy initiation by transmembrane selective autophagy receptors | The EMBO Journal www.embopress.org/doi/full/10....

Position available! Team @mito911.bsky.social needs a new scientific program manager to take over from legendary super-PM @doroteaartscience.bsky.social, who is moving on to bigger things. This is a Berkeley-based position. Apply at aprecruit.berkeley.edu/JPF05103.

Finally in @nature.com 🎉 We uncovered step-wise mTORC1 activation on membrane: RAG–Ragulator recruits, RHEB pushes closer, and direct membrane contacts by RAPTOR + mTOR trigger full kinase activity.👉 The membrane is not just a platform — it’s part of the mechanism. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Just one more week left to get an application in! Starting my lab at the Perutz and the @viennabiocenter.bsky.social has been a fantastic opportunity that shaped me as a scientist!

📣 Don't miss out on the upcoming @mito911.bsky.social webinar featuring Katie Drerup, PhD, from the University of Wisconsin. 👇 Reserve your spot using the link below. 📅 September 8 ⏰ 11:00 AM EST RSVP: bit.ly/4mUJeAc