Research group Group Piazza

We’re fascinated by how metabolism influences gene expression. In our lab, we study how small molecules and metabolites can regulate what genes are turned on or off, and how this affects protein production. Our goal is to understand the molecular “language” that connects a cell’s metabolic state to its genetic activity.

To do this, we work at the crossroads of systems biology and structural biology.

We’re part of a growing field called proteome-wide biophysics, where we use advanced proteomics techniques to study how proteins change their shape and behavior inside cells. These changes can happen because of interactions with other proteins, small molecules, or even stress in the local environment and they often determine how a protein functions.

We focus on biologically and clinically relevant model systems. Most of our research is carried out in mammalian stem cells and leukemia models, which allow us to explore how metabolism and protein dynamics are linked to cell fate decisions and disease mechanisms. These systems give us a powerful window into both basic biology and potential therapeutic strategies.

Our work is driven by cutting-edge mass spectrometry. We develop and apply innovative proteomics workflows to capture protein structure, abundance, and interactions at an unprecedented scale and resolution. This lets us explore complex cell populations and rare cell states that are often invisible to traditional methods.

Funding

Our group is supported by an ERC Starting Grant, and by the Wallenberg Foundation. Our collaborations with AstraZeneca and Biognosys reflect our belief in the importance of academia–industry partnerships to maximize the societal impact of biomedical research.

This research group has no members.

There are no research project connections.

Benchmarking of quantitative proteomics workflows for Limited proteolysis mass spectrometry. - Koudelka, T., Bassot, C., & Piazza, I. (2025). Molecular & Cellular Proteomics, 100945

Regulation of gene expression through protein-metabolite interactions. - Hornisch, M., & Piazza, I. (2025). Npj Metabolic Health and Disease, 3(1), 7.

Ribosomes modulate transcriptome abundance via generalized frameshift and out-of-frame mRNA decay. - Zhang, Y., Nersisyan, L., Fürst, E., Alexopoulos, I., Santolaria, C., Huch, S., Bassot, C., Garre, E., Sunnerhagen, P., Piazza, I., Pelechano V. (2025). Molecular Cell 85, 2017-2031.e7.

The potential of cross-linking mass spectrometry in the development of protein–protein interaction - modulators. Ruwolt, M., Piazza, I., & Liu, F. (2023). Current Opinion in Structural Biology, 82, 102648.

Metabolite interactions in the bacterial Calvin cycle and implications for flux regulation. - Sporre, E., Karlsen, J., Schriever, K., Asplund-Samuelsson, J., Janasch, M., Strandberg, L., Karlsson, A., Kotol, D., Zeckey, L., Piazza, I., Syrén, P.-O., Edfors, F., & Hudson, E. P. (2023). Communications Biology, 6(1), 947

Differential regulation of mRNA stability modulates transcriptional memory and facilitates - environmental adaptation. Li, B., Zeis, P., Zhang, Y., Alekseenko, A., Fürst, E., Sanchez, Y. P., Lin, G., Tekkedil, M. M., Piazza, I., Steinmetz, L. M., & Pelechano, V. (2023). Nature Communications, 14(1), 910

The rise of proteome‐wide biophysics. - Mateus, A., Savitski, M. M., & Piazza, I. (2021). Molecular Systems Biology, 17(7). https://doi.org/10.15252/msb.202110442 [Review manuscript]

All publications in PubMed.

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