• Pluripotent and multipotent stem cells
• Neurological disorders
• Ageing and rejuvenation
• Protein design
• Pioneer transcription factors
• Wildlife conservation
• Interview on career path and research program

“We aim to advance stem cell models with designer proteins to decode evolution, unlock ageing, and reverse degeneration.”

The protein and cell engineering (PACE) lab combines stem cell and structural biology with data science to study the molecular switches that define and reprogram cell identity. We strive to understand how stem cells maintain and change their identity, and which molecules regulate this process. We study the natural evolution of stem cell factors and use protein design methods to tune and optimize the molecular toolkit that gives cells their identity. With newly discovered molecular switches, we will be able to reliably program cell states in a dish, enabling their use for biomedical research and clinical applications.  One of our aims is to make ‘old stem cells’ that help us to study aging and neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.  Another aim is to rejuvenate cells to combat age-linked cellular decline.

• Since 2025: Associate Director, School of Biomedical Sciences
• Since 2025: Professor, School of Biomedical Sciences
• Since 2020: Principal Investigator. Center for Translational Stem Cell Biology.
• 2018-2025: Associate Professor, School of Biomedical Sciences
• 2016-2021: Deputy Director. Max Planck - GIBH Join Center for Regenerative Biomedicine.
• 2016-2018: Adjunct Professor, Guangzhou Medical University, China
• 2013-2018: Principal Investigator and Professor. Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health. Chinese Academy of Sciences. Guangzhou, China.
• 2008-2013: Research Scientist. Genome Institute of Singapore (A*STAR). Singapore.

• 2006–2008: Postdoctoral fellow. Genome Institute of Singapore (A*STAR). Singapore.
• 2002–2005: PhD. Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry. University of Göttingen, Germany.
• 2001–2002: MSc. Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry. University of Göttingen, Germany.
• 2000–2001: Visiting Student Molecular Biology.University of Manchester, UK
• 1997–2000: Vordiplom. Friedrich Schiller University, Jena, Germany

• The structural basis of pioneer transcription factors
• AI-assisted protein design
• Generate stem cells from dolphins and whales
• Decoding and reversing ALS pathology with stem cells
• Making old cells young again
• Deciphering the evolutionary origin of stem cells and animals
• Advance cell reprogramming technologies

1. Ho SY, Hu H, Ho DH, Renom AP, Yeung SW, Boerner F, Weng M, Hutchins AP, Jauch R (2025) An acidic residue within the OCT4 dimerization interface of SOX17 is necessary and sufficient to overcome its pluripotency-inducing activity.Stem Cell Reports 20: 102398
2. Gao Y, Tan, DS, Girbig M, Hu H, Zhou X, Xie Q, Yeung SW, Lee, KS, Ho SY, Cojocaru V, Yan J, Hochberg GKA, de Medonza A, Jauch R (2024) The emergence of Sox and POU transcription factors predates the origins of animal stem cells. Nat Commun 15: 9868 [news] [link to press release] [coverage in the Washington Post and by Forbes]
3. Weng M, Hu H, Graus MS, Tan DS, Gao Y, Ren S, Ho DHH, Langer J, Holzner M, Huang Y, Ling GS, Lai CSW, Francois M, Jauch R (2023) An engineered Sox17 induces somatic to neural stem cell fate transitions independently from pluripotency reprogramming. Sci Adv 9: eadh2501[perspective] [link to press release]
4. Hu H, Ho DHH, Tan DS, MacCarthy CM, Yu CH, Weng M, Scholer HR, Jauch R (2023) Evaluation of the determinants for improved pluripotency induction and maintenance by engineered SOX17. Nucleic Acids Res 51: 8934-8956 [link to press release]
5. Tan DS, Cheung SL, Gao Y, Weinbuch M, Hu H, Shi L, Ti SC, Hutchins AP, Cojocaru V, Jauch R (2023) The homeodomain of Oct4 is a dimeric binder of methylated CpG elements. Nucleic Acids Res 51: 1120-1138
6. Tan DS, Chen Y, Gao Y, Bednarz A, Wei Y, Malik V, Ho DH, Weng M, Ho SY, Srivastava Y, Velychko S, Yang X, Fan L, Kim J, Graumann J, Stormo GD, Braun T, Yan J, Scholer HR, Jauch R (2021) Directed Evolution of an Enhanced POU Reprogramming Factor for Cell Fate Engineering. Mol Biol Evol 38: 2854-2868.[lay summary]
7. Hou L, Wei Y, Lin Y, Wang X, Lai Y, Yin M, Chen Y, Guo X, Wu S, Zhu Y, Yuan J, Tariq M, Li N, Sun H, Wang H, Zhang X, Chen J, Bao X, Jauch R (2020) Concurrent binding to DNA and RNA facilitates the pluripotency reprogramming activity of Sox2. Nucleic Acids Res 48: 3869-3887
8. Malik V, Glaser LV, Zimmer D, Velychko S, Weng M, Holzner M, Arend M, Chen Y, Srivastava Y, Veerapandian V, Shah Z, Esteban MA, Wang H, Chen J, Scholer HR, Hutchins AP, Meijsing SH, Pott S, Jauch R (2019) Pluripotency reprogramming by competent and incompetent POU factors uncovers temporal dependency for Oct4 and Sox2. Nat Commun 10: 3477 [press release]
9. Veerapandian V, Ackermann JO, Srivastava Y, Malik V, Weng M, Yang X, Jauch R (2018) Directed Evolution of Reprogramming Factors by Cell Selection and Sequencing. Stem Cell Reports 11: 593-606
10. Malik V, Zimmer D, Jauch R (2018) Diversity among POU transcription factors in chromatin recognition and cell fate reprogramming. Cell Mol Life Sci 75: 1587-1612
11. Jerabek S, Ng CK, Wu G, Arauzo-Bravo MJ, Kim KP, Esch D, Malik V, Chen Y, Velychko S, MacCarthy CM, Yang X, Cojocaru V, Scholer HR, Jauch R (2017) Changing POU dimerization preferences converts Oct6 into a pluripotency inducer. EMBO Rep 18: 319-333
12. Hou L, Srivastava Y, Jauch R (2017) Molecular basis for the genome engagement by Sox proteins. Semin Cell Dev Biol 63: 2-12
13. Chang YK, Srivastava Y, Hu C, Joyce A, Yang X, Zuo Z, Havranek JJ, Stormo GD, Jauch R (2017) Quantitative profiling of selective Sox/POU pairing on hundreds of sequences in parallel by Coop-seq. Nucleic Acids Res 45: 832-845
14. Klaus M, Prokoph N, Girbig M, Wang X, Huang YH, Srivastava Y, Hou L, Narasimhan K, Kolatkar PR, Francois M, Jauch R (2016) Structure and decoy-mediated inhibition of the SOX18/Prox1-DNA interaction. Nucleic Acids Res 44: 3922-35

Link to full publication list:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=ralf+jauch

• Ho HH, Weng, M Hu H & Jauch R. Methods to convert somatic human cell to a totipotency-like state with engineered SOX17. US Non-Provisional patent application No 18/453,112 filed 21.08.2023.
• Chen Y & Jauch R. An artificial POU protein for the ultra-fast and highly efficient induction of pluripotency. 201710367783.0. filing data 23.05.2017.
• Jauch R, Kolatkar PR, Aksoy I, Stanton LW. Mutant Sox Proteins and methods of inducing pluripotency. US 2012/0220029 A1; Aug 30 2012.
• Jauch R, Wahl MC et al. Crystallographic Structures of Mnk2 and Mnk1 proteins. US 2011/0159568. Jun 30 2011.

• Revive & Restore Applied Stem Cell Conservation Fund (2026-2027)
• Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, General Research Fund (17128918, 2019; 17101120: 2021; 17106622: 2023; 17117823: 2024; 17117925: 2026)
• Research Grants Council of Hong Kong, Collaborative Research Fund (C7064-22G: 2023-2026 as Co-I)
• Health and Medical Research Fund of Hong Kong (06174006: 2019-2022; 08192886: 2021 - 2024)
• Liu Po Shan/Dr Vincent Liu Endowment Fund for Motor Neurone Disease (2021-2022)
• National Natural Science Foundation (NSFC Grant Nos. 31471238: 2015-2018:  31771454. 2018-2021)
• MOST China-EU Science and Technology Cooperation (2013DFE33080, 2014-2016)
• DAAD/RGC Joint Research Scheme (2019-2021)   
• NSFC-Sweden mobility scheme (2016-2019)
• S&T Planning Project of Guangdong (2016A050503038, 2016-2018)

• 2023: Health and Longevity Award by the U.S. National Academy of Medicine [More information]
• Since 2016: Deputy Director. GIBH – Max Planck Center for Regenerative Biomedicine. Guangzhou, China.
• 2016-2018: Honorary Associate Professor at the University of Hong Kong
• 2015: State High-end Foreign Expert of China//国家高端外国专家  
• 2014: 1st Larysa Pevny Award for Excellence in SOX research (4th SOX Research Conference, Cleveland, USA)
• 2014: 100-Talent award of the Chinese Academy of Sciences/中国科学院百人计划