Chuna Ram Choudhary

Short presentation

Dr. Chuna Ram Choudhary is currently a professor and group leader at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark. He carried out his doctoral studies at the University of Münster in Germany (under Prof. Dr. Hubert Serve) and his postdoctoral training at the same university as well as at the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry in Martinsried, Germany (under Prof. Dr. Matthias Mann). Dr. Choudhary has been widely published in many reputable, peer-reviewed journals and in 2012, was awarded a prestigious Sapere Aude research grant from the Danish Research Council. His laboratory is interested in investigating the dynamics of protein posttranslational modifications, in particular of lysine acetylation and ubiquitylation, in cell signaling networks using quantitative mass spectrometry-based approaches.

Primary fields of research

Biological systems respond to a wide range of extracellular and intracellular cues (signals), resulting in a myriad of diverse outcomes. Cells respond to these signals by modulating expression levels of protein as well as by regulating their functions via posttranslational modifications (PTMs). PTMs have critical roles in the dynamic regulation of protein activity, stability, spatial localization, and communication with other macromolecules within cells. Deregulation of PTM modifying enzymes, such as protein kinases, ubiquitin ligases, and lysine deacetylases, is often observed in human diseases further highlighting the importance of their regulatory functions. Thus, unraveling the scope of PTMs, their link to regulatory enzymes, and their dynamics in response to cellular perturbations is critically important for obtaining a better understanding of the principles of cellular governance.

A major focus of the Group is to obtain a 'systems-wide' understanding of signaling networks. For this, our laboratory applies cutting-edge mass spectrometry-based proteomics technologies for unbiased, global, and quantitative analysis of key regulatory PTMs. We work closely with other groups within the Centre as well as with our national and international collaborators.

CV

Chunaram Choudhary

Current position
Apr. 2013–:

Professor and group leader, Proteomics Program, CPR, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Previous positions
Sept. 2009–Mar. 2013:

Associate professor and group leader, Proteomics Program, CPR, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Jun. 2007–Jun. 2009:

Postdoctoral fellow, Department of Proteomics and Signal Transduction, Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Martinsried, Germany. Mentor: Prof. Dr. Matthias Mann

Education 
Jul. 2001–Aug. 2006:

PhD in Biochemistry. Mentor: Prof. Dr. Hubert Serve, Department of Hematology/Oncology, University of Münster, Germany

Research awards 

2015:    Consolidator grant from the European Research Council (ERC)
2014:    Junior Researcher Prize from the Danish Cancer Society
2014:    Hallas Møller Investigator grant from the NNF
2013:    European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) Young Investigator
2012:    Sapere Aude research grant from the Danish Research Council
2009:    Artur Pappenheim Prize from the German Society of Hematology and Oncology