Dr. Tim Clausen is a Senior Group Leader at the Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP) in Vienna, Austria, where he has led a pioneering research group since 2002. His work centers on the molecular mechanisms of protein quality control, with a focus on chaperones and proteases, which are cellular machines that maintain protein integrity. His team uses integrative structural biology to uncover how cells manage misfolded or damaged proteins, with implications for cancer, neurodegeneration, and muscle disorders.

Among Dr. Clausen’s key discoveries are the first structural snapshots of chaperone–substrate complexes and the identification of phospho-arginine as a novel degradation signal in bacteria, analogous to the eukaryotic ubiquitin-proteasome system. His lab developed PROTAC-like molecules that redirect bacterial proteases, offering a new strategy for antibiotic development. He also investigates muscle-specific chaperones like UNC-45 and their role in quality-controlling myosin, essential for muscle contraction.

Dr. Clausen earned his PhD at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, where he trained under Nobel Laureate Robert Huber. He previously studied biology at the University of Konstanz and was a Group Leader at the Max Planck Institute before joining IMP. He has received numerous honours, including two ERC Advanced Grants, most recently in 2024 for research on protein misfolding in muscle cells, and the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize. In 2022, he was named an Allen Distinguished Investigator. Dr. Clausen also contributes to the scientific community through advisory roles, including the EMBO Membership Committee and the Swiss National Science Foundation Advanced Grant panel, and mentorship, with many former trainees now leading independent labs worldwide.