Peter Sass

Peter Sass is a Researcher leading the Microbial Bioactive Compounds group at the Interfaculty Institute of Microbiology and Infection Medicine (IMIT) within the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Tübingen. His research focuses on bacterial cell division as a novel target for antibiotic development, with particular emphasis on the molecular mechanisms of cell division inhibitors.

Dr. Sass earned his diploma in 2005 and PhD in microbiology in 2009 from the University of Bonn, where he worked in the lab of Gabriele Bierbaum. He gained additional expertise through research stays at the National University of Ireland in Maynooth and Newcastle University. He completed postdoctoral training with Hans-Georg Sahl in Bonn and Heike Brötz-Oesterhelt in Düsseldorf before establishing his research group at Tübingen in 2014.

His research program investigates bacterial cell division mechanisms and explores novel approaches to target this process with antimicrobial compounds. Using advanced life-cell fluorescence microscopy and in vitro protein activity assays, his team studies how antibiotics like ADEP disrupt bacterial cell division, with particular focus on the Clp protease system and divisome dynamics. His work spans fundamental bacterial physiology and translational antibiotic discovery.

Dr. Sass's publication record demonstrates consistent contributions to understanding bacterial cell division as an antibiotic target. His recent work has focused on ADEP antibiotics, cell wall stress responses, and novel approaches to combat antimicrobial resistance through targeting essential cellular processes not addressed by current therapeutics.

• DFG TRR 261: Cellular Mechanisms of Antibiotic Action and Production
• German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), TTU Novel Antibiotics
• DFG SFB 766: The Bacterial Cell Envelope
• ERASMUS Fellowship by the European Union
• Junior scientist award from Dr. Günther and Imme Wille foundation
• Member of VAAM and ASM

Dr. Sass leads a research team comprising postdocs, PhD students, and MSc students, and collaborates extensively with other research groups both within Tübingen and internationally. His lab utilizes advanced microscopy platforms including Nikon Eclipse Ti and Zeiss Axio Observer Z1 systems for high-resolution bacterial cell imaging. His group has made significant contributions to understanding how antibiotics like ADEP target the Clp protease system to disrupt bacterial cell division through degradation of essential proteins like FtsZ.