Dr Fabian Ruperti

I am a molecular biologist/biochemist and HFSP postdoctoral researcher at the School of School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences. My research bridges the fields of functional proteomics and evolutionary biology, with a particular focus on how proteins and their post-translational modifications have evolved to shape and enable the evolution of key animal traits. Using mass spectrometry as my main analytical tool, I study early-branching animals such as sponges, ctenophores, and cnidarians to uncover the post-translational innovations underlying the emergence of multicellularity, the nervous and immune systems, and symbiotic interactions.

My current focus is on the evolution of protein N-glycosylation, a modification central to protein stability, folding, cell-cell and cell-ECM adhesion, recognition and communication, and therefore pivotal to the evolution of animals.

I completed my PhD (2019-2021) at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) Heidelberg, Germany in the group of Prof. Detlev Arendt, as a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Fellow within the ITN IGNITE network, where I combined functional proteomics with 3D imaging to uncover the molecular basis of coordinated contractions in nerveless sponges. This work revealed an ancient relaxant-inflammatory response underlying sponge deflation (Current Biology, 2024) and, in parallel, developed a protein structure-based framework for cross-phyla protein annotation in poorly annotated non-model species (Genome Biology, 2023).

I routinely work with mass spectrometry-based -omics (proteomics, glycoproteomics, glycomics) in non-model organisms in the Schulz lab. I welcome collaborations involving PTM discovery, glycoproteomics, and protein annotation in non-model species, as well as anyone simply interested in evolution and proteins.