Henriette Elisabeth Autzen

Short presentation

I obtained my PhD from the Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, where I worked under the supervision of Prof. Poul Nissen. During my PhD studies, I worked on two particular P-type ATPases, one that transports calcium and another that transports copper, both of which I studied with a range of different methods within structural biology.

I currently work as a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Assoc. Prof. Pontus Gourdon, where I have continued my work on Cu⁺-transporting P-type ATPases. My aim is to uncover how this type of protein establishes its metal-specificity and how it accomplishes ion transportation.

Primary fields of research

• Structural biology of P-type ATPases
• Membrane protein crystallization
• Lipid-protein interactions
• Copper-transportation and trafficking

Current research

The heavy metal copper is essential in a range of cellular processes; however, as excessive levels of the metal are toxic, copper homeostasis is crucial for viability. Cu⁺-transporting P-type ATPases (CopAs) are membrane proteins that serve as key regulators of heavy-metals such as copper through active extrusion. Dysfunction of the human CopAs is associated with the devastating and hereditary Menkes and Wilson’s diseases. Furthermore, the essential role of CopAs in pathogenic bacteria, fungi and parasites renders them attractive targets for novel drugs, battling the threat of antimicrobial resistance. Consequently, unveiling how CopAs function at the atomistic level will not only explain how disease mutations are manifested, but provide a framework for designing a new generation of antimicrobial drugs.

Teaching

Teacher’s assistant in Undergraduate Courses:

• Theoretical exercises in Experimental molecular biology
• Laboratory exercises in General biochemistry
• Laboratory exercises in General molecular biology
• Laboratory exercises  in Experimental molecular biology
• Computer exercises in Biomodelling
• Computer exercises in Introduction to medicinal chemistry
• Theoretical exercises in General biochemistry

CV

Education

2011 – 2014:
Ph.D. within membrane protein structural biology at Institute of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University, Denmark
Supervisor: Prof. Poul Nissen, Centre for Membrane Pumps in Cells and Disease
Project title: Elucidating Functional Aspects of  P-type ATPases: Computational and Structural Studies of SERCA1a and LpCopA

2011:
M.Sc. in Medicinal Chemistry, Aarhus University, Denmark
Supervisor: Prof. Birgit Schiøtt, Biomodelling group at Intitute of Chemistry
Project title: The human Serotonin Transporter: A Computational Study of Ligand Binding and Dynamics

2009:
B.Sc. in Medicinal Chemistry, Aarhus University, Denmark
Supervisor: Prof. Birgit Schiøtt, Biomodelling group at Intitute of Chemistry
Project title: Binding of Cocaine in hDAT and hSERT: A Molecular Modelling Study

Publications

Submitted
Autzen HE; Siuda I; Nissen P; Thøgersen L, Regulation of SERCA by Cholesterol: A direct or indirect effect?

2014
Wang K; Sitsel O; Meloni G, Autzen HE; Andersson M; Klymchuk T; Nielsen AM; Rees DG; Nissen P; Gourdon P, Structure and mechanism of Zn2+-transporting P-type ATPases, Nature, June 2014

2013
Koldsø H*, Autzen HE*, Grouleff J; Schiøtt B, Ligand induced conformational changes of the human serotonin transporter revealed by molecular dynamics simulations. PLoS ONE, April 2013. *Equal contribution

Paulsen ES; Villadsen J; Tenori E; Liu H; Bonde DF; Lie MA; Bublitz M; Olesen C; Autzen HE; Dach I; Sehgal P; Nissen P; Møller JV; Schiøtt B; Christensen SB, Water-Mediated Interactions Influence the Binding of Thapsigargin to Sarco/endoplasmic Reticulum Calcium Adenosinetriphosphatase. J. Med Chem, April 2013.

Mattle D; Sitsel O; Autzen HE; Meloni G; Gourdon P; Nissen P, On Allosteric Modulation of P-Type Cu+-ATPases. J Mol Biol, March 2013.

2012
Qian H; Autzen HE, A little engine that could: ATP-powered electrical battery and heater inside cells. Biophys J, October 2012.

2011
Koldsø H; Noer P; Grouleff J; Autzen HE; Sinning S; Schiøtt B, Unbiased simulations reveal the inward-facing conformation of the human serotonin transporter and Na+ ion release. PLoS Comp Biol, October 2011


Fellowships and Honors

February 2015 – January 2016
Postdoc Fellowship from the Carlsberg Foundation funding the project “Heavy-metal transporting P-type ATPases: Deciphering the structural groundwork of copper transport and regulation”. (520.000 DKK)

Research conducted in the group of Assoc. Prof. Pontus Gourdon at the Dept. of Biomedical Sciences, Copenhagen University and in the group of Prof. Poul Nissen at the Dept. of Molecular Biology and Genetics, Aarhus University.

2013
EMBO Short Term Fellowship funding of the project”Dynamics of a transition metal transporting P-type ATPases in its native membrane”

Research stay in Prof. Mark SP Sansom’s laboratory at Oxford University, UK, November 2013 (32.000 DKK)

2012
Margrethe Møller Fonden. Travel expenses covered for curse in Cambridge, UK, 2012 (4.500 DKK)