Research group
We focus on high-throughput screening in simplified model organisms, combined with validation in higher systems, to understand human health and disease.
Research focus
Our research is centered on understanding how cells maintain protein homeostasis (proteostasis), particularly under stress and during aging.
To tackle this, we combine genome-wide screening in model systems with automated experimental workflows and data-driven analysis. By integrating large-scale experiments with bioinformatics—and increasingly AI-assisted approaches—we can systematically explore how proteostasis is regulated and how it fails over time.
This allows us to move beyond individual factors and instead build a more integrated, systems-level view of cellular function, with clear relevance for human health and disease.
Our approach
High-throughput functional genomics A central part of our work is genome-scale screening in yeast. Using barcoded libraries and automated platforms, we can interrogate thousands of genetic perturbations in parallel. This gives us the ability to explore complex biological processes in a systematic and unbiased way.
Data-driven biology and bioinformatics We combine these large datasets with computational analysis and predictive approaches to extract mechanistic insight. Our work sits deliberately at the intersection of hypothesis-driven and data-driven research, where large-scale discovery feeds back into focused mechanistic questions.
AI-assisted data pipelines To keep up with the scale and complexity of our data, we develop and use automated and AI-assisted analysis pipelines. These help us process data more efficiently and reproducibly, and open the door to more predictive and quantitative ways of understanding biology.
Scalable and reproducible workflows An important goal of the lab is to establish robust and reusable analysis workflows. We aim to generate approaches that are not only useful for our own projects, but can be applied more broadly across different datasets and questions.
Research areas
Proteostasis and aging Proteostasis is a dynamic balance of protein synthesis, folding, and degradation that is essential for cellular function. With age, this balance becomes increasingly difficult to maintain, leading to the accumulation of damaged and misfolded proteins.
We use genome-wide screening combined with computational analysis to identify key components and regulatory layers of the proteostasis network, and to understand how its capacity changes over time.
From model systems to human biology We take advantage of the scalability and experimental power of yeast, and complement this with validation in more complex systems. This allows us to identify conserved principles and translate our findings into biologically meaningful contexts.
Infection biology and screening applications We are also expanding our screening approaches to new areas, including infection biology, where systematic and high-throughput strategies can help uncover new host–pathogen interactions and potential intervention points.
Vision
In the longer term, we aim to more tightly integrate genome-scale experiments with machine learning and predictive models, moving towards a more quantitative and scalable understanding of cellular systems.
By combining high-throughput biology with computational and AI-driven approaches, we want to contribute to a broader shift toward data-driven life science, while staying grounded in clear biological questions.
More information:
Publications
2026
MicroLife, Oxford University Press 2026, Vol. 7
Kuhlmann, Kirill; Stallinger, Amrutha; Michaelis, Claudia; et al.
2026
Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, Frontiers Media S.A. 2026, Vol. 12
Arunagiri, Anoop; Sontag, Emily; Kohler, Verena; et al.
Kohler, Andreas; Carlström, Andreas; Nolte, Hendrik; et al.
2023
Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, Frontiers Media S.A. 2023, Vol. 16
Kohler, Verena; Braun, Ralf J.; Kohler, Andreas
2023
Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, Frontiers Media S.A. 2023, Vol. 10
Kohler, Verena; Arunagiri, Anoop; Ventura, Salvador; et al.
2023
Acta Physiologica, John Wiley & Sons 2023, Vol. 238, (3)
Vazquez‐Calvo, Carmela; Kohler, Verena; Höög, Johanna L.; et al.
2023
Nucleus, Taylor & Francis Group 2023, Vol. 14, (1)
Keuenhof, Katharina S.; Kohler, Verena; Broeskamp, Filomena; et al.
2023
Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, Frontiers Media S.A. 2023, Vol. 10
Kohler, Verena; Andréasson, Claes
2022
Frontiers in Molecular Biosciences, Vol. 9
Kroschwald, Sonja; Arunagiri, Anoop; Ventura, Salvador; et al.
2022
Nature Communications, Nature Publishing Group 2022, Vol. 13, (1)
Diessl, Jutta; Berndtsson, Jens; Broeskamp, Filomena; et al.
2022
Frontiers in Cell and Developmental Biology, Frontiers Media S.A. 2022, Vol. 10
Peselj, Carlotta; Ebrahimi, Mahsa; Broeskamp, Filomena; et al.
2021
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) 2021, Vol. 118, (30)
Panagaki, Dimitra; Croft, Jacob T.; Keuenhof, Katharina; et al.
2021
Contact, Sage Publications 2021, Vol. 4
Kohler, Verena; Büttner, Sabrina
2021
Cell Reports, Cell Press 2021, Vol. 34, (3)
Tosal-Castano, Sergi; Peselj, Carlotta; Kohler, Verena; et al.
2020
Toxins, MDPI 2020, Vol. 12, (2)
Kohler, Andreas; Kohler, Verena; Khalifa, Shaden; et al.
2020
Cells, MDPI 2020, Vol. 9, (5) : 1184-1184
Kohler, Verena; Kohler, Andreas; Büttner, Sabrina
2020
Biological chemistry (Print), Walter de Gruyter 2020, Vol. 401, (11) : 1233-1248