Dagmar Wachten

Dagmar Wachten is a full professor at the Medical Faculty of the University of Bonn, where she heads the Department of Biophysical Imaging and Molecular Physiology. She is also a director of the Institute of Innate Immunity alongside Eicke Latz and Felix Meissner. Professor Wachten is affiliated with the Excellence Cluster ImmunoSensation and participates in several research consortia including FOR5547 Primary Cilia Dynamics, SFB1454 Metaflammation, and BATENERGY.

Professor Wachten's research focuses on understanding how tissue ecosystems are maintained through cellular communication, with particular emphasis on the interaction between non-immune cells and cells of the innate immune system. A central aspect of her work involves studying the primary cilium—a subcellular compartment crucial for environmental sensing and cellular fate determination. Her lab investigates how ciliary dysfunction leads to conditions like obesity through mechanisms involving disrupted adipogenic differentiation.

Professor Wachten's recent publications highlight significant findings in ciliary signaling and its role in adipose tissue biology. Her lab has developed innovative optogenetic tools like DEL-VPR for precise control of gene expression in mammalian cells. This multidisciplinary research combines optogenetics, genetically-encoded biosensors, high-resolution microscopy, mouse genetics, and biochemistry to study cellular communication with unprecedented spatial and temporal precision.

Her notable scientific contributions include:

• Discovery that BBS8-dependent ciliary Hedgehog signaling governs cell fate in white adipose tissue
• Development of potent optogenetic regulation systems for gene expression
• Elucidation of how primary cilia dysfunction contributes to metabolic disorders

Professor Wachten's lab actively collaborates with researchers across multiple institutions and participates in several major research initiatives focused on cilia biology, immunology, and metabolic disorders. Her work bridges fundamental cell biology with clinical implications for understanding and treating conditions like obesity and ciliopathies.