Dr. Valérie Panneels

Integral membrane proteins like transporters and receptors play key roles in cellular signal transduction. I am interested in better understanding the way receptors orchestrate signaling in complex interactive systems at the molecular level. I am initiating and supervising projects on the structure, function and dynamics of those receptors. Science on eukaryotic membrane proteins requires sophisticated techniques for testing expression, purification, activity and crystallization using amphiphile molecules like detergents and lipids that mimick the membrane. In the group I am therefore involved in experiments using state-of-the-art techniques in biophysics (SLS synchrotron, X-ray free electron laser (SwissFEL), electron microscopy), biochemistry and cell biology for a complete functional and structural characterization of G protein-coupled receptors.

Curriculum Vitae

• Ultrafast structural changes direct the first molecular events of vision

• Panneels V, Diaz A, Imsand C, Guizar-Sicairos M, Müller E, Bittermann AG, Ishikawa T, Menzel A, Kaech A, Holler M, Grimm C, Schertler G (2021) Imaging of retina cellular and subcellular structures using ptychographic hard X-ray tomography. J. Cell Sci. 2021 Oct 1;134(19):jcs258561. doi: 10.1242/jcs.258561. https://journals.biologists.com/jcs/article-lookup/doi/10.1242/jcs.258561

• Weinert, T., & Panneels, V. (2020). Membrane protein preparation for serial crystallography using high-viscosity injectors: rhodopsin as an example. In C. Perez & T. Maier (Eds.), Methods in molecular biology: Vol. 2127. Expression, purification, and structural biology of membrane proteins (pp. 321-338). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-0716-0373-4_21

• Varma, N., Mutt, E., Mühle, J., Panneels, V., Terakita, A., Deupi, X., … Lesca, E. (2019). Crystal structure of jumping spider rhodopsin-1 as a light sensitive GPCR. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America PNAS, 116(29), 14574-14556. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1902192116

• Retinal isomerization in bacteriorhodopsin captured by a femtosecond x-ray laser Nogly P, Weinert T, James D, Carbajo S, Ozerov D, Furrer A, Gashi D, Borin V, Skopintsev P, Jaeger K, Nass K, Båth P, Bosman R, Koglin J, Seaberg M, Lane T, Kekilli D, Brünle S, Tanaka T, Wu W, Milne C, White T, Barty A, Weierstall U, Panneels V, Nango E, Iwata S, Hunter M, Schapiro I, Schertler G, Neutze R, Standfuss J
  SCIENCE 361, 145 (2018).
  DOI: 10.1126/science.aat0094

• Serial millisecond crystallography for routine room-temperature structure determination at synchrotrons Weinert T, Olieric N, Cheng R, Brünle S, James D, Ozerov D, Gashi D, Vera L, Marsh M, Jaeger K, Dworkowski F, Panepucci E, Basu S, Skopintsev P, Doré Andrew S, Geng T, Cooke Robert M, Liang M, Prota Andrea E, Panneels V, Nogly P, Ermler U, Schertler G, Hennig M, Steinmetz Michel O, Wang M, Standfuss J
  NATURE COMMUNICATIONS 8, 542 (2017).
  DOI: 10.1038/s41467-017-00630-4

• Addendum to Three-dimensional mass density mapping of cellular ultrastructure by ptychographic X-ray nanotomography [J. Struct. Biol. 192 (2015) 461-469] Diaz A, Malkova B, Holler M, Guizar-Sicairos M, Lima E, Panneels V, Pigino G, Bittermann A, Wettstein L, Tomizaki T, Bunk O, Schertler G, Ishikawa T, Wepf R, Menzel A
  JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY 193, 83 (2016).
  DOI: 10.1016/j.jsb.2015.12.003
• Lipidic cubic phase injector is a viable crystal delivery system for time-resolved serial crystallography Nogly P, Panneels V, Nelson G, Gati C, Kimura T, Milne C, Milathianaki D, Kubo M, Wu W, Conrad C, Coe J, Bean R, Zhao Y, Båth P, Dods R, Harimoorthy R, Beyerlein Kenneth R, Rheinberger J, James D, DePonte D, Li C, Sala L, Williams Garth J, Hunter Mark S, Koglin Jason E, Berntsen P, Nango E, Iwata S, Chapman Henry N, Fromme P, Frank M, Abela R, Boutet S, Barty A, White Thomas A, Weierstall U, Spence J, Neutze R, Schertler G, Standfuss J
  NATURE COMMUNICATIONS 7, 12314 (2016).
  DOI: 10.1038/ncomms12314
• Three-dimensional mass density mapping of cellular ultrastructure by ptychographic X-ray nanotomography (vol 192, pg 461, 2015) Diaz Ana, Malkova Barbora, Holler Mirko, Guizar-Sicairos Manuel, Lima Enju, Panneels Valerie, Pigino Gaia, Bittermann Anne Greet, Wettstein Larissa, Tomizaki Takashi, Bunk Oliver, Schertler Gebhard, Ishikawa Takashi, Wepf Roger, Menzel Andreas
  JOURNAL OF STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY 193, 83-83 (2016).
  DOI: 10.1016/j.jsb.2015.12.003

• Batch crystallization of rhodopsin for structural dynamics using an X-ray free-electron laser Wu W, Nogly P, Rheinberger J, M Kick L, Gati C, Nelson G, Deupi X, Standfuss J, Schertler G, Panneels V
  ACTA CRYSTALLOGRAPHICA SECTION F-STRUCTURAL BIOLOGY COMMUNICATIONS 71, 856 (2015).
  DOI: 10.1107/S2053230X15009966
• Time-resolved structural studies with serial crystallography: A new light on retinal proteins Panneels Valerie, Wu Wenting, Tsai ChingJu, Nogly Przemek, Rheinberger Jan, Jaeger Kathrin, Cicchetti Gregor, Gati Cornelius, Kick Leonhard M, Sala Leonardo, Capitani Guido, Milne Chris, Padeste Celestino, Pedrini Bill, Li XiaoDan, Standfuss Joerg, Abela Rafael, Schertler Gebhard
  STRUCTURAL DYNAMICS 2, 041718 (2015).
  DOI: 10.1063/1.4922774