Franziska Matthäus

Dr. Franziska Matthäus is a Junior Professor and Group Leader at the Center for Computational and Theoretical Biology (CCTB), University of Würzburg. Her research focuses on systems biology, computational modeling of biological systems, and mathematical approaches to understanding complex biological processes such as cancer cell migration, prion disease dynamics, and brain connectivity. She leads interdisciplinary projects integrating experimental data with computational models to address questions in oncology, neuroscience, and addiction medicine.

Research Interests: Dr. Matthäus specializes in modeling cellular systems, particularly cancer cell migration, bacterial chemotaxis (e.g., E. coli), and the spread of prion diseases in neural networks. Her work bridges mathematical modeling, bioinformatics, and experimental biology, emphasizing systems-level understanding of disease mechanisms and biological processes. Recent projects include developing the TCCA R package for analyzing time-course microarray data and studying the role of stathmin in skin regeneration.

Education: She completed her PhD in 2005 at the Polish Academy of Sciences, focusing on hierarchical modeling of prion spread in brain tissue. Her academic career includes postdoctoral research in systems biology and computational neuroscience.

Grants & Collaboration: Her work is supported by interdisciplinary collaborations across departments at the University of Würzburg and beyond. She advises PhD students in computational biology and systems medicine, including Frank Förster and Felix Repp. Current projects involve modeling alcohol addiction mechanisms and investigating SCN1A gene effects on brain structure.

Labs & Teams: Her group at the CCTB integrates computational biologists, mathematicians, and experimentalists to tackle challenges in systems medicine and theoretical biology. The team actively publishes in high-impact journals such as NPJ Systems Biology and Applications and BMC Bioinformatics.