In October 2002 Prof. Friedrich Herberg (Ruhr University of Bochum) joined the faculty of natural sciences at Kassel University. Currently he is leading a group of about fourteen people, focussing cAMP dependent protein kinase (PKA) research. This includes investigating signal transduction pathways using PKA as a model system as well as the development of novel biotechnological and pharmaceutical tools. The PKA-Model system is also used to implement and validate techniques from functional proteomics. Here a main focus is the detailed characterization of molecular interactions within cellular protein networks.

Understanding the structure and function of kinases is essential for understanding complex cellular signal transduction events. The main focus of the group is on research on the molecular basis of fine tuning kinase activity employing biochemical, biophysical, cell biological and bioinformatical technologies, e.g. surface plasmon resonance (SPR), fluorescence polarisation (FP), isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC), Alpha-screen, and bioluminescence resonance energy transfer (BRET). Those BIA–techniques (Biomolecular Interaction Analysis) are applied within a national wide research consortium, the human brain proteome project, funded within the NGFN2 (Nationales Genomforschungsnetzwerk) by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF).

Recently Mass spectrometry (MS) with a newly acquired LC ESI MS instrument (ABI Q-Trap 4000) and molecular modeling technologies have been established and will complete research efforts in proteomics in the near future.