CONCO

Location: Frankfurt (DE)

Scientific Team Leader: Silke Kauferstein

Website: http://www.uni-frankfurt.de

Institution:

The Centre of Forensic Medicine of the University of Frankfurt, Germany, provides expertise in cases of human poisoning and envenoming due to any chemical as well as animal and plant toxins. Over the last 40 years, this department has also achieved great experience in toxinology, e.g. the isolation and characterisation of toxic compounds from a wide variety of organisms, such as venoms of snakes, cone snails, Heloderma, but also from numerous other animals, as well as from plants.

Key persons involved in the project:

Dr Silke Kauferstein, a biologist active in toxin research, has been involved in the isolation and characterisation of several highly active peptides from venoms of cone snails. She was until recently working with Prof Dietrich Mebs, a toxicologist expert. Beside these activities the laboratory has carried out several genetic studies on venoms and venomous animals. This team will provide its know-how to participants of the project by analysing potential mechanisms of toxin development leading to the high degree of diversity in the course of the evolution.

Back to Partners List