Tilman Baumstark, Ph. D.

Training & Degrees
Ph.D. 1997 Dissertation summa cum laude with Dr. Detlev Riesner, Institute for Biophysics at the Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf, Germany (Dr. rer. nat.).

M.S. 1989 Biology (major in Biophysics, minors in Genetics and Physical Chemistry) at the Heinrich-Heine-University in Düsseldorf, Germany (Diplom).

Research Interests
Positive strand RNA viruses: Assembly of the viral replication complex, role of RNA structure and RNA-protein interactions.

Subviral RNA pathogens: Viroids and plant satellite RNAs.

Protein-based drug delivery using yeast as a model system.

Employment & Research:
2002 - present Assistant Professor of Biology at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia

1997 - 2002 Postdoctoral Research Associate & HHMI fellow with Dr. Paul Ahlquist, Institute for Molecular Virology / HHMI at University-Wisconsin, Madison: Determination of RNA structure of the brome mosaic virus RNA3 replication enhancer and investigation of its recognition by host proteins from yeast.

1990 - 1997 Graduate student and Research Associate with Dr. Detlev Riesner, Institute for Biophysics, Heinrich-Heine-University: Elucidation of the molecular mechanism for processing of potato spindle tuber viroid RNA in potato and tomato.

1988 - 1989 Undergraduate student in Dr. Detlev Riesner’s laboratory, Institute for Biophysics (Masters/Diplom thesis): Synthesis and characterization of viroid RNA segments and their large-scale production and purification for biophysical studies (NMR, Xray).

Affiliations:
RNA Society
American Society for Virology
Sigma Xi Research Society
American Association for the Advancement of Science

Recent Publications:
Schrader O, Baumstark T, and Riesner D. (2003). A mini-RNA containing the tetraloop, wobble-pair and loop E motifs of the central conserved region of potato spindle tuber viroid is processed into a minicircle. Nucleic Acids Res. 31, 988-998.

Baumstark T and Ahlquist P. (2001). The brome mosaic virus RNA3 intergenic replication enhancer folds to mimic a tRNA TYC-stem loop and is modified in vivo. RNA 7, 1652-1670.

Schröder ARW, Baumstark T, and Riesner D. (1998). Chemical mapping of coexisting RNA structures. Nucleic Acids Res. 26, 3449-3450.

Baumstark T, Schröder ARW, and Riesner D. (1997). Viroid processing: Switch from cleavage to ligation is driven by a change from a tetraloop to a loop E conformation. EMBO J. 16, 599-610.

Chen X, Baumstark T, Steger G, and Riesner D. (1995). Growth kinetics of potato spindle tuber viroid (PSTVd) replication products in the host plant. Biol Chem. Hoppe Seyler 376 (Suppl.), 90.

Chen X, Baumstark T, Steger G, and Riesner D. (1995). High resolution SSCP by optimization of the temperature by transverse TGGE. Nucleic Acids Res. 23, 4524 4525.

Baumstark T and Riesner D. (1995). Only one of four possible secondary structures of the central conserved region of potato spindle tuber viroid is a substrate for processing in a potato nuclear extract. Nucleic Acids Res. 23, 4246-4254.

Matousek J, Schröder ARW, Trena L, Reimers M, Baumstark T, Dedic P, Vlasak J, Becker I, Kreuzaler F, Fladung M, and Riesner D. (1994). Inhibition of viroid infection by antisense RNA expression in transgenic plants. Biol. Chem. Hoppe Seyler 375, 765-777.

Riesner D, Baumstark T, Qu F, Klahn T, Loss P, Rosenbaum V, Schmitz M, and Steger G. (1992). Physical basis and biological examples of metastable RNA structures. In ‘Structural Tools for the Analysis of Protein-Nucleic Acid Complexes’ (D. Lilley, H. Heumann and D. Suck, Ed.) Advances in Life Sciences, Birkhaeuser Verlag AG, Basel, 401-435.

Steger G, Baumstark T, Mörchen M, Tabler T, Tsagris M, Saenger HL, and Riesner D. (1992). Structural requirements for viroid processing by RNase T1. J. Mol. Biol. 227, 719-737.