Maria Ott

Maria Ott is a tenured staff scientist at the Department of Protein Biochemistry, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg (MLU). She holds a PhD in Physics from the University of Lübeck (2009) and conducted postdoctoral research at the Weizmann Institute (2008–2010). Since 2015, she leads projects in the DFG-funded Collaborative Research Center Polymers under Multiple Constraints (SFB-TRR102). Her research bridges polymer physics and biophysics, focusing on macromolecular crowding effects on protein structure and dynamics, particularly intrinsically disordered proteins (IDPs). Techniques include single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy and X-ray scattering.

Education:

• PhD in Physics, University of Lübeck, 2009
• MSc Medical Physics at MLU and Ontario Cancer Institute, Toronto

Research Interests:

• Impact of crowding agents on protein compaction
• IDP structural dynamics under crowded conditions
• Single-molecule spectroscopy and X-ray scattering methodologies

Grants and Collaborations:

• DFG Collaborative Research Center SFB-TRR102 (since 2015)

Labs/Teams: Collaborative Research Center SFB-TRR102, Department of Protein Biochemistry at MLU.