Eva-Maria Zangerl-Plessl

Research tools and portfolio

Molecular dynamics simulations
Compound parameterization
Umbrella sampling
Homology modeling
Pharmacophore modeling
Docking studies

Principal Investigator Eva-Maria Zangerl-Plessl

The researcher

Eva-Maria Plessl obtained her degree in chemistry with distinction in 2012 and joined the lab of Dr. Anna Weinzinger, investigating the atomistic basis of opening and conduction of inward rectifier potassium channels and small drug interactions with the hERG channel. During her studies, she applied for a student fellowship in the prestigious doctoral college “Molecular Drug Targets”, where she was accepted in May 2015. She then joined the most recognized Lab in the field of hERG channel electrophysiology of Michael Sanguinetti for several weeks to investigate the effect of new potential hERG activators. In June of 2016, she defended her doctoral thesis with distinction. Afterwards, she started as a PostDoctoral researcher at the department of pharmacology and toxicology in the lab of Prof. Steffen Hering, where she concentrated on calcium and potassium ion channel dynamics and GABAA channel modulations.

Know-how and research interest

Eva-Maria Plessl is a specialist in molecular modeling, including molecular dynamics simulations, homology modeling and small molecule interactions. Her main research interest is the understanding of dynamical processes on a molecular level and translating them to biophysical meanings. In her more recent work, she focused on dynamic changes in ion channels induced by mutations, both to sample desired conformational changes as well as disease causing ones. For example, she identified a “forced open” mutation that renders the inward rectifier channel into an open state, which was further investigated on an electrophysiological level and crystallized in the collaboration with the Colin Nichols lab. This is of high importance, since potassium ion conduction through these open potassium channels is essential to control of membrane potentials in all cells and this structure is the first to reach an open state during molecular dynamics simulations (Zangerl-Plessl EM et al., 2019). She further investigated rare disease-causing mutations like the Cantu-Syndrome (Chen X et al., 2019). Her work has been published in several high-ranking peer reviewed journals in the field and she obtained several prestigious grants like the scholarship from the Dr. Maria Schaumayer Stiftung, several travel grants and the Zukunftskolleg. She was further invited to review several papers and grants.