Biographical Sketch

Asifa Akhtar

Senior Group Leader and Director Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and , Freiburg

Personal Statement: My laboratory primarily studies and epigenetic mechanisms, especially focusing on the regulation of the X by the phenomenon of dosage compensation in . More specifically, we are interested in addressing how the dosage compensation complex, composed of RNA and proteins [the MSL complex], gets targeted to the . In addition, we are studying the mechanism by which the MSL complex modulates X chromosomal transcriptional output at a single cell resolution all the way to chromosomal and organismal level.

Education: 1993 B.Sc. Biology, First Class Degree, University College London (UCL), UK 1997 PhD Biology, Imperial Cancer Research Fund (ICRF), London, UK

Positions: 1997-1999 Postdoctoral Research Scientist, EMBL, Heidelberg, Germany 1999-2000 Postdoctoral Research Scientist, Adolf-Butenandt Institute, Munich, Germany 2001- 2009 Group Leader, EMBL, Gene Expression Program, Heidelberg, Germany 2009-2013 Max Planck Investigator, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, Germany since 04/2013 Director, Department of Chromatin Regulation, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, Germany 2015-2017 Managing Director, Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics, Freiburg, Germany

Honors: 1993 LILIAN CLARKE PRIZE (UCL); Best Biology student JOAN-HAYESMAN PRIZE (UCL); Best project ELIZABETH GRAHAM HOCART PRIZE (UCL), Most recommended student by external examiners CERIFICATE OF MERIT (UCL); Academic Achievements 2002-2004 EMBO YIP PhD student course. Evaluated as the best lecturer for three years in a row. 2008 Recipient of European Life Science Organization (ELSO) Early Career Award for significant contribution in the field. 2013 Elected EMBO Member. 2013 Awarded FEBS National Lecture. 2014 Elected member of Max Planck Perspective Committee. 2015 Elected member of the Intersectional Board of the Scientific Council of the Max Planck Society. 2017 The Wilhelm Feldberg Prize.

Fellowships: 1993-1997 ICRF studentship for the PhD program at Imperial Cancer Research Fund. 1997-1998 EMBO Long Term Fellowship to carry out postdoctoral research at EMBL in Peter Becker’s laboratory. 1998-2000 Human Frontiers Science Program (HFSP) Postdoctoral Fellowship to carry out postdoctoral research at the University of Munich in Peter Becker’s laboratory.

Grants: 2004-2007 EU FP6 “Epigenome” as the NET (Newly established) member. 2004-2008 DFG: SPP1129 ”Epigenetics”. 2005-2008 DFG: Transregio 5. 2009-2012 EU FP7 funded ITN ” 4D”. 2010-2016 EU FP7 funded NoE “EpiGeneSys”. 2011-2018 DFG: SFB 746 (Functional specificity by coupling and modification of proteins). 2012-2018 DFG: BIOSS-2. 2012-2020 DFG: SFB 992 (Medical Epigenetics). 2015-2018 DFG: SFB1140 (KIDGEM).

Teaching and Training: 2002-2004 EMBO Young Investigator Program (YIP) PhD student course 2002-2009 Member of EMBL Graduate Student Committee and EICAT Committee. 2010-2016 Vice-speaker for the International Max Planck Research Graduate School, Freiburg 2011-2017 Lectures within the University of Freiburg “Medical Epigenetics” lecture series winter term

Training of 7 Diploma students, 29 PhD students and 35 postdocs

International Conference Organization: Organization of 23 international conferences, among them EMBO Conferences, Chair Gordon Conferences, Keystone meetings etc.

Other Professional Activities: 2015-present BIOSS Steering Committee 2012-present Co-speaker and board member for DFG-SFB992. 2010-2015 Co-coordinator of the EU FP7 funded Network of Excellence “EpiGeneSys”. 2004-2009 Board member and elected representative of the Newly Established Teams (NET) in the EU FP6 funded “Epigenome” Network of Excellence. 2002-2009 Member of EMBL Graduate Student Committee and EICAT Committee. 2006-2009 Member of EMBL Standing Advisory Committee. 2002-2009 Member of EMBL monoclonal antibody user committee.

Adhoc reviewer for Nature and its sister journals, Cell and its sister journals, Science, Genes & Development, PloS Biology, PloS Genetics, eLife, EMBO Journal, EMBO Reports etc. Selected publications of the past five years:

(see list of publications on http://www.ie-freiburg.mpg.de/2254956/Publications):

Aktas T, Ilik IA, Maticzka D, Bhardwaj V, Pessoa Rodrigues C, Mittler G., Manke T, Backofen R, Akhtar A. (2017) DHX9 suppresses RNA processing defects originating from Alu invasion of the human . Nature 544, 115-119.

Ilik IA, Maticzka D, Georgiev P, Gutierrez N., Backofen R, Akhtar A. (2017) A mutually exclusive stem-loop arrangement in roX2 RNA is essential for X-chromosome regulation in Drosophila. Genes & Development 31, 1973-1987.

Chatterjee A, Seyfferth J, Lucci J, Gilsbach R, Preissl S, Gilsbach R, Boettinger L, Christoph U M, Panhale A, Stehle T, Kretz O, Sahyoun AH, Avilov S, Eimer S, Hein L, Pfanner N, Becker T, and Akhtar A. (2016) MOF acetyl transferase regulates and respiration in mitochondria. Cell 167, 722-738.

Quinn JJ, Zhang QC. Georgiev P, Ilik IA, Akhtar A and Chang HY (2016) Rapid evolutionary turnover underlies conserved lncRNA–genome interactions. Genes & Development 30, 191-207.

Chlamydas S, Holz H, Samata M, Chelmicki T, Goergiev P, Pelechano V, Dündar F, Dasmeh P, Mittler G, Tavares Cadete F, Ramírez F, Conrad T, Wei W, Raja S, Manke T, Luscombe NM, Steinmetz LM and Akhtar A. (2016) Functional interplay between MSL1 and CDK7 controls RNA polymerase II Ser5 phosphorylation. Nature Structural and Molecular Biology 23, 580-589.

Sheikh BN, Bechtel-Walz W, Lucci J, Karpiuk O, Hild I, Hartleben B, Vornweg J, Diehl S, Sahyoun A, Stehle T, Voss AK, Thomas T, Kretz O, Manke T, Huber TB, Bhardwaj V and Akhtar A (2016) MOF maintains Transcriptional Programs regulating Cellular Stress Response. Oncogene 35(21), 2698-710.