Kristin Teßmar-Raible

© Barbara Mair

Kristin Tessmar-Raible, neurochronobiologist at the Max F. Perutz Laboratories of the University of Vienna, focuses on the molecular and cellular timing systems of the "rhythms of life" in her research. Many organisms rely on endogenous oscillators (“circadian clocks” and “circalunar clocks”), which are synchronised by external cues such as sunlight and moonlight. Tessmar-Raible aims at investigating the underlying mechanisms based on the example of the marine bristle worm Platynereis and the midge Clunio. The ERC Consolidator Grant will fund projects that investigate in particular how the often varying natural environments can actually be compared to conditions in the laboratory. On the other hand, they aim at examining the critical molecules that regulate the endogenous clock to understand how a self-regulating circalunar oscillation in biological systems can work.