Institute of Epigenetics and Stem Cells (IES), Stem Cell Center

At the Institute of Epigenetics and Stem Cells (IES), we aim to unlock a cell's full potential by understanding how a single cell can give rise to all the cells in our body at the beginning of life.

microscope of human stem cells, 3d rendering.

Our mission is to understand how cells remember their function in our body, how we can erase such memory, and how we can predict fates using artificial intelligence.

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Female Research Scientist Uses Micropipette Filling Test Tubes. Scientist Works in a Team of Scientists Trying to Cure Deadly Disease, They Work in a Big Laboratory/ Research Center.

The first Artist in Residence program of Helmholtz Munich.

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The researchers of epigenetics@HelmholtzMunich join forces to solve the mysteries of epigenetics and benefit from the vibrant and international research environment promoting scientific excellence.

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Our Microscopy Core Facility develops imaging methods and provides access and training in high-end microscopy, imaging techniques, and analyses.

We combine high-resolution microscopy with single-cell genomics to study the epigenetic principles underlying cellular reprogramming in the mouse embryo.

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Transcription-Replication Conflicts under different temperatures

We study how DNA replication and transcription can occur simultaneously without major accidents that cause DNA damage and genome instability.

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We aim to understand the molecular bases of cell identity changes by combining single-cell and spatial omics data analysis with physical modeling.

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We are interested in the strategies that cells use to control gene expression levels and variability during differentiation.

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From 5 to 8 July 2026, Munich’s Muffatwerk will become a unique space where the worlds of scientific research and artistic creation converge. The exhibition “In Formation” brings together four international artists – Anna Dumitriu, Solveig Lill,…

12.07.2023, Neuherberg: Helmholtz Pioneer Campus Opening. Foto: Matthias Balk/Helmholtz Zentrum München

At its most recent plenary session, the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BAdW) elected 13 distinguished scholars as new members. Among them are three researchers from Helmholtz Munich: Prof. Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla, Prof. Fabian Theis,…

To fit the long range of DNA into the tiny nucleus, it is packaged into a structure called chromatin.

Talented PhD students are encouraged to apply for the upcoming Chromatin Summer School taking place from 17 - 29 August 2026

Verleihung des Bayerischen Maximiliansordens

Prof. Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla, this year’s Leibniz Prize winner, has received the Bavarian Maximiliansorden for Science and Art. Minister-President Dr. Markus Söder presented the distinguished state honor to her at the State Chancellery,…

The Helmholtz Munich Talent Forum took place on November 18–19, 2025, at the Helmholtz Munich Conference Center, bringing together eight outstanding early-career scientists from around the world working in the fields of Epigenetics and Nucleic Acids…

Exhibition Stem Cells at Deutsches Museum_For Website

How do the many different cells in the human body emerge from a single stem cell – and what makes each one unique? The Epigenetics Community at Helmholtz Munich explores these questions in a special exhibition at the Deutsches Museum. From 14. to 16.…

freigestelltes Porträtbild für Kontakte auf der Website

Prof. Dr. Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla

Director of the Stem Cell Center (rotating), Director of the Institute for Epigenetics and Stem Cells, Group Leader, IES

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Dr. Stephan Hamperl

Group Leader, Institute of Epigenetics and Stem Cells, IES

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Portrait Antonio Scialdone
Institute for Epigenetics and Stem Cells

Dr. Antonio Scialdone

Group Leader, Institute of Epigenetics and Stem Cells, IES

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Dr. Nicolas Battich

Group Leader, IES

Dr. Jonathan Adam Burton

Deputy Head of Institute for Epigenetics and Stem Cells

Dr. Andreas Ettinger

Head of Microscopy Core

Dr. Tamas Schauer

Senior Computational Biologist

Dr. Marlies Oomen

Postdoc

Dr. Antoine Canat

Postdoc

Dr. Maxime Lalonde

Postdoc

Dr. Clare Shuk Kwan Lee

Postdoc

Dr. Martin Miranda

Postdoc

Dr. Federico Pecori

Postdoc

Dr. Ioannis Tsirkas

Postdoc

Dr. Jiezhen Mo

Postdoc

Dr. Yuki Oyama

Postdoc

Dr. José Terrón-Bautista

Postdoc

Gofur Mohammad Wasiful

Doctoral Researcher, IES/HPC

Veronica Finazzi

Doctoral Researcher

Yicong Chen

Doctoral Researcher

Atiqa Sajid

Doctoral Researcher

Iliya Nadelson

Doctoral Researcher, Torres-Padilla lab

David von Bonin

Doctoral Researcher

Elizabeth Marquez Gomez

Research Assistant – Bioinformatics

Margarita Cespedes Barroso

Lab Manager

Xanthoula Karypidou

Lab Manager

Melissa Mayen Quiroz

Intern

Karola Meininghaus

Masters Students

Kim Job

Doctoral Researcher

Vladyslav Storozhuk

Doctoral Researcher

Johanna Eisenbeil

Masters Student

Amel Mameri

Postdoc

Thomas Gerling

Administrative Assistant

35

Employees

24

Nationalities

4467

Cups of Coffee

4

IES Sport Events

12

Languages

Basille, A. ; Bawadi, Y. ; Lin, Y. ; Kirke, C. ; Bourgeay, C. ; Cluet, D. ; Vachez, L. ; Dervieux, V. ; Guiguettaz, L. ; Bernard, P. ; Hamperl, S. ; Pasero, P. ; Ricci, E.P. ; Vanoosthuyse, V.

The rapid delivery of RNase H variants reveals distinct classes of RNA:DNA hybrids.

Stępień, A. ; Pulimamidi, D. ; Plens-Gałąska, M. ; Lalonde, M. ; Kopczyńska, M. ; Ostatek, K. ; Kapeliukha, M. ; Kimurâ, H. ; Irshad, S. ; Gdula, M.R. ; Hamperl, S. ; Kamieniarz-Gdula, K.

Proximity of pre-mRNA 3′ end processing and transcription termination is associated with enhanced gene expression.

Hamad, S.G. ; Makhlouf, M. ; Agrebi, N. ; Kaddourah, A. ; Abu-Hasan, M. ; Al‐Adba, B. ; Sadoun, A. ; Hubrack, S.Z. ; Aamer, W. ; Ruiz Tejada Segura, M.L. ; Scialdone, A. ; Machaca, K. ; Saraiva, L.R. ; Bout-Tabaku, S. ; Lo, B.

Unraveling immune dysregulation in ZNFX1 deficiency: From interferonopathies to macrophage activation syndrome.

Solovey, M. ; Celik, M.A. ; Salcher, F. ; Gülec, C. ; Abdalfattah, M. ; Ali, M.I.H ; Heinig, M. ; Scialdone, A. ; Ziemann, F. ; Colomé-Tatché, M.

Community: Component based differential cell communication analysis in large multi-sample case-control scRNAseq datasets.

Katznelson, A. ; Hernandez, B. ; Tapia, K. ; Fahning, H. ; Burton, A. ; Zhang, J. ; Torres-Padilla, M.E. ; Plachta, N. ; Zaret, K.S. ; McCarthy, R.L.

ERH elicits cell lineage restriction in mammalian preimplantation development and differentiation from pluripotency via H3K9me3-heterochromatin.

Rodriguez-Terrones, D. ; Oomen, M.E. ; Torres-Padilla, M.E.

Protocol for simultaneous profiling of transcription start sites and full-length transcripts from low-input samples using Smart-seq+5'.

Uruci, S. ; Lalonde, M. ; Luijsterburg, M.S. ; Hamperl, S.

Polymerase face-off: Emerging concepts in transcription-replication coordination.

Hermant, C. ; Mourra-Díaz, D.M. ; Oomen, M.E. ; Jansz, N. ; Noll, C. ; Canat, A. ; Pal, M. ; Nakatani, T. ; Schauer, T. ; Torres-Padilla, M.E.

TBP regulates transposable element expression in early mouse embryos.