Philipp Maass

Dr. Maass is a Scientist of the Genetics & Genome Biology program of the SickKids Research Institute and Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. His postdoctoral trainings at well-known scientific institutes, including the Max-Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin and Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts, provided him with the necessary background and technical expertise to broaden the understanding of non-coding disease mechanisms.

Research

Dr. Maass’s research program focuses on functional regions of the non-coding genome that impact development and disease mechanisms. Specifically, Dr. Maass aims to understand inter-chromosomal communication and long non-coding RNAs which represent novel fields in chromatin biology and gene & genome regulation.

Education and experience

• 2018–Present: Scientist, Genetics & Genome Biology program, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada
• 2018–Present: Assistant Professor, Department of Molecular Genetics, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
• 2015–2018: Postdoctoral Researcher, Harvard University, Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology, Cambridge, USA
• 2019–2015: Postdoctoral Researcher, Co-Principal Investigator, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin, Germany

Achievements

• 2019: Canada Research Chair Tier II in Non-coding Disease Mechanisms, Canada
• 2018: Walter-Siegenthaler Award, Walter-Siegenthaler Society

1. Mattioli M, Volders PJ, Gerhardinger C, Lee JC, Maass PG, Melé M, Rinn JL, High-throughput functional analysis of lncRNA core promoters elucidates rules governing tissue-specificity, Genome Res., 2019 Mar;29(3):344-355
2. Maass PG, Barutcu AR, Weiner CL, Rinn JL, Inter-chromosomal contact properties in live-cell imaging and in Hi-C, Mol. Cell. 2018, Mar 15,69(6):1039-1045.e3
3. Maass PG, Barutcu AR, Shechner DM, Weiner CL, Rinn JL, Spatiotemporal allele organization by allele-specific CRISPR live-cell imaging (SNP-CLING)Nat. Struct. Mol. Biol. 2018, Jan 08
4. Maass PG*, Aydin A*, Luft FC*, Schächterle C*, Weise A, Stricker S, Lindschau C, Vaegler M, Qadri F, Toka HR, Schulz H, Krawitz PM, Parkhomchuk D, Hecht J, Hollfinger I, Wefeld-Neuenfeld Y, Bartels-Klein E, Mühl A, Kann M, Schuster H, Chitayat D, Bialer MG, Wienker TF, Ott J, Rittscher K, Liehr T, Jordan J, Plessis G, Tank J, Mai K, Naraghi R, Hodge R, Hopp M, Hattenbach LO, Busjahn A, Rauch A, Vandeput F, Gong M, Rüschendorf F, Hübner N, Haller H, Mundlos S, Bilginturan N, Movsesian MA, Klussmann E, Toka O, Bähring S*, PDE3A mutations cause autosomal dominant hypertension with brachydactyly, Nat. Genet. 2015 Jun;47(6):647-53, * contributed equally
5. Maass PG, Rump A, Schulz H, Stricker S, Schulze L, Platzer K, Aydin A, Tinschert S, Goldring MB, Luft FC, Bähring S, A misplaced lncRNA causes brachydactyly in humans, J. Clin. Invest. 2012 Nov 1;122(11):3990-4002.

See a full list of Dr. Maass' publications on PubMed or Google Scholar.

Funding

• 2019–2020: Canadian Foundation for Innovation – John R. Evans Leaders Fund
  Principal Investigator
  Title: “Live-cell imaging of inter-chromosomal contacts by confocal super resolution microscopy”
• 2019–2021: New Frontiers in Research Fund – Exploration Grant
  Principal Investigator
  Title: “Decoding RNA genes and chromatin biology in disease”
• 2015–2017: German Research Foundation (DFG), Postdoc fellowship no. MA-5028/2-1
  Principal Investigator
  Title: “Functional characterization of mesenchymal stem cell-derived lncRNAs”