Dr Jan Böhning

Position Governing Body Fellow Junior Research Fellow
School MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology Biological Sciences
Email jboehning@mrc-lmb.cam.ac.uk
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Jan’s research aims to provide a better understanding of how the bacterium that causes tuberculosis can persist within the human body, using a mixture of structural biology and infection biology approaches.

Jan studied Biochemistry at the Universities of Bayreuth and Munich in Germany, with an extended research stay at the University of California, San Diego. He then completed his doctorate at the University of Oxford, studying the structure of multicellular assemblies of bacteria, which play important roles in chronic infection.

Now based at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology as an MRC Career Development Fellow, Jan is working at the interface of structural and infection biology.

Jan’s postdoctoral work focuses on obtaining a better understanding of how the causative agent of tuberculosis, the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, maintains the integrity of its cell envelope. This cell envelope prevents host factors and antibiotics from entering the bacterial cell and killing it, but it is unclear how these bacteria can selectively take up nutrients and export virulence factors at the same time. Using a mixture of structural and infection biology approaches, Jan’s research attempts to elucidate the role of membrane transporter complexes in this process, helping to better understand this important pathogen and providing the groundwork for the development of new drugs and therapies against tuberculosis.

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A triptych of abstract images: a smooth round stone nestled in a curved rock, distorted eyeglass frames scattered on a white background, and a high-contrast black and white microscopic image resembling organic or cellular structures.

Art Exhibition: ��ӽ紫ýat 60

14/06/2025 at 10.00

Celebrating Wolfson’s 60th anniversary year, this exhibition highlights the range of artistic disciplines and styles that have made up our exhibitions over the years.