Florian Heyd

Florian Heyd is a Professor of RNA Biochemistry at the Freie Universität Berlin, part of the Department of Biochemistry within the Faculty of Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacy. His research focuses on RNA biochemistry, particularly the role of temperature in regulating alternative splicing and its implications for neurodegenerative diseases and cellular processes. Heyd earned his PhD from Essen University in 2006 and conducted postdoctoral research in Montreal and Dallas/Philadelphia before establishing his independent lab at Philipps-Universität Marburg with an Emmy-Noether Fellowship from the DFG in 2011. Since 2013, he has led the Heyd Group at FU Berlin, exploring topics such as molecular switches, mRNA structures, and therapeutic applications of splicing modulation.

Research Interests:

• Temperature-dependent regulation of RNA splicing
• Mechanisms of neurodegeneration and neuroprotection
• Role of long non-coding RNAs in cell biology
• Development of RNA-based therapeutics

Awards:

• Emmy-Noether-Fellowship from the German Research Foundation (DFG), 2011

Lab Activities: The Heyd Group investigates how environmental and physiological factors influence RNA processing, with a focus on translational research for neurological disorders. Current projects include studying RBM3 ASOs as potential neuroprotectants and exploring temperature-sensing mechanisms in splicing regulation.