Pierre Stallforth

Dr. Pierre Stallforth

Paleobiotechnology · Head

Phone: +49 3641 532-1527 Fax: +49 3641 532-2527 Email: pierre.stallforth@leibniz-hki.de

Main Research Areas
  • Natural products from prehistoric samples
  • Natural products from microbial interactions (microbial predator-prey associations, amoebae-bacteria interactions)
  • Structure elucidation and biosynthetic studies
Curriculum vitae

Professional Career

2020 Head of the Department Paleobiotechnology, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, (Hans-Knöll-Institute, Jena) 
2019 - 2020 Interim Professorship Organic Chemistry University of Hamburg 
2013 - 2019 Junior research group leader, Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology, (Hans-Knöll-Institute, Jena) 
2011-2013 Postdoc, Harvard Medical School, Dept. of Biological Chemistry and Molecular Pharmacology, Boston, Supervisor: Prof. Jon Clardy
2006-2010 Graduate studies (Dr. sc. ETH Zurich), ETH Zurich and Max Planck Institute, colloids and interfaces, biomolecular systems, Berlin supervisors: Prof. Peter H. Seeberger “synthesis of bacterial carbohydrates and glycolipids for application in novel vaccine srategies”
2002-2006 MSc studies chemistry, St Edmund Hall, University of Oxford (1st class, being placed 2nd out of 150 students)
Master thesis, University of Oxford “dynamics of a quantum dot in a magnetic field” (1st class)
2002 Abitur (A-levels) at the Paul-Klee-Gymnasium Gersthofen, Germany

Awards · Appointments · Scientific Activities

2020 Academy of Sciences Göttingen, Academy Prize for Chemistry
2019 DECHEMA Research Award Natural Product Research
2018 Medac Research Award
2018 Best Talk Prize, Bioorganic Symposium, Bochum 2018
2018 Max Buchner Stipend, DECHEMA
2017 Prize for the Best Talk (2017 Dicty Meeting)
2016 Medac Research Award
2014  Fellowship of the Daimler and Benz Foundation
2012 Feodor Lynen-postdoc fellowship (Humboldt Foundation)
2011 Swiss National Fund Postdoc fellowship
2007 PhD fellowship, Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes (German Academic Merit Foundation)
2005 Gibbs prize for excellence in the final examination
2005-2007 Fellowship of the Studienstiftung des deutschen Volkes
2003 and 2004 Turbutt prize for excellence in practical organic chemistry
2003-2006 University of Oxford, open scholarship
2002 Prize for the best Abitur (A-levels) at the Paul-Klee-Gymnaisum
Publications

Baunach M, Chowdhury S, Stallforth P, Dittmann E (2021) The landscape of recombination events that greate nonribosomal peptide diversity. Mol Biol Evol [Epub ahead of print] Details PubMed

Mukherji R, Zhang S, Chowdhury S, Stallforth P (2021) Chimeric LuxR transcription factors rewire natural product regulation. Angew Chem Int Ed 59(15), 6192-6195. Details PubMed Open Access PDF

Zhang S, Mukherji R, Chowdhury S, Reimer L, Stallforth P (2021) Lipopeptide-mediated Bacterial Interaction Enables Cooperative Predator Defense. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 118(6), e2013759118. Details PubMed Open Access PDF

Goetze S, Stallforth P (2020) Structure elucidation of bacterial nonribosomal lipopeptides. Org Biomol Chem 18(9), 1710-1727. (Review) Details PubMed

Götze S, Stallforth P (2020) Structure, properties, and biological functions of nonribosomal lipopeptides from pseudomonads. Nat Prod Rep 37(1), 29-54. (Review) Details PubMed Open Access PDF

Klapper M, Schlabach K, Paschold A, Zhang S, Chowdhury S, Menzel KD, Rosenbaum MA, Stallforth P (2020) Biosynthesis of pseudomonas-derived butenolides. Angew Chem Int Ed 59(14), 5607-5610. Details PubMed Open Access PDF

Seyedsayamdost M, Stallforth P (2020) Special issue in honor of Professor Jon Clardy. J Nat Prod 83(3), 565-568. (Review) Details PubMed Open Access PDF

Stallforth P (2020) Cellular microbiology interview ‐ Dr. Pierre Stallforth. Cell Microbiol 22(5), e13188. (Review) Details PubMed

Fischer D, Gessner G, Fill TP, Barnett R, Tron K, Dornblut K, Kloss F, Stallforth P, Hube B, Heinemann SH, Hertweck C, Scherlach K, Brunke S (2019) Disruption of membrane integrity by the bacteria-derived antifungal jagaricin. Antimicrob Agents Chemother 63(9), e00707-19. Details PubMed Open Access PDF

Götze S, Arp J, Lackner G, Zhang S, Kries H, Klapper M, García-Altares M, Willing K, Günther M, Stallforth P (2019) Structure elucidation of the syringafactin lipopeptides provides insight in the evolution of nonribosomal peptide synthetases. Chem Sci 10(48), 10979-10990. Details Open Access PDF

Herbst R, Günther M, Stallforth P (2019) Chemical Ecology of Dictyostelium discoideum. In: Comprehensive Natural Products III Elsevier. (Review) Details

Klapper M, Paschold A, Zhang S, Weigel C, Dahse HM, Götze S, Pace S, König S, Rao Z, Reimer L, Werz O, Stallforth P (2019) Bioactivity and mode of action of bacterial tetramic acids. ACS Chem Biol 14(8), 1693-1697. Details PubMed

Oberheide A, Pflanze S, Stallforth P, Arndt HD (2019) Solid-phase-based total synthesis and stereochemical assignment of the cryptic natural product aurantizolicin. Org Lett 21(3), 729-732. Details PubMed

Arp J, Götze S, Mukherji R, Mattern DJ, Garcia-Altares M, Klapper M, Brock DA, Brakhage AA, Strassmann JE, Queller DC, Bardl B, Willing K, Peschel G, Stallforth P (2018) Synergistic activity of co-secreted natural products from amoebae-associated bacteria. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 115(15), 3758-3763. Details PubMed Open Access

Barnett R, Stallforth, P (2018) Natural products from social amoebae. Chem Eur J 24(17), 4202-4214. (Review) Details PubMed

Broecker F, Götze S, Hudon J, Rathwell DCK, Pereira CL, Stallforth P, Anish C, Seeberger PH (2018) Synthesis, liposomal formulation, and immunological evaluation of a minimalistic carbohydrate-α-galCer vaccine candidate. J Med Chem 61(11), 4918-4927. Details PubMed

Heinrich D, Barnett R, Tweedy L, Insall R, Stallforth P, Winckler T (2018) The chemoattractant glorin is inactivated by ester cleavage during multicellular development of the social amoeba Polysphondylium pallidum. ACS Chem Biol 13(6), 1506-1513. Details PubMed

Klapper M, Arp J, Günther M, Stallforth P (2018) The role of bacterial natural products in predator defense. Synlett 29(5), 537-541. (Review) Details

Klapper M, Braga D, Lackner G, Herbst R, Stallforth P (2018) Bacterial alkaloid biosynthesis: Structural diversity via a minimalistic nonribosomal peptide synthetase. Cell Chem Biol 25(6), 659-665. Details PubMed Open Access

Arp J, Stallforth P (2017) Rationalizing the Right Ratios. Cell Chem Biol 24(5), 539-541. (Review) Details PubMed

Barnett R, Raszkowski D, Winckler T, Stallforth P (2017) Versatile synthesis of the signaling peptide glorin Beilstein J Org Chem 13, 247-250. Details

Gallegos-Monterrosa R, Kankel S, Götze S, Barnett R, Stallforth P, Kovács ÁT (2017) Lysinibacillus fusiformis M5 induces increased complexity in Bacillus subtilis 168 colony biofilms via hypoxanthine. J Bacteriol 199(22), e00204-e00217. Details PubMed

Götze S, Herbst-Irmer R, Klapper M, Görls H, Schneider KRA, Barnett R, Burks T, Neu U, Stallforth P (2017) Structure, Biosynthesis, and Biological Activity of the Cyclic Lipopeptide Anikasin ACS Chem Biol 12(10), 2498-2502. Details PubMed

Adibekian A, Stallforth P (2016) Cutting Edge Chemical Biology: Report from the 2016 International Symposium on Chemical Biology, January 13-15, Geneva, Switzerland. ACS Chem Biol 11(4), 816-820. (Review) Details PubMed

Klapper M, Götze S, Barnett R, Willing K, Stallforth P (2016) Bacterial alkaloids prevent amoebal predation. Angew Chem Int Ed 55(31), 8944-8947. Details PubMed Supplement

Braesel J, Götze S, Shah F, Heine D, Tauber J, Hertweck C, Tunlid A, Stallforth P, Hoffmeister D (2015) Three redundant synthetases secure redox-active pigment production in the basidiomycete Paxillus involutus. Chem Biol 22, 1325-1334. Details PubMed

Matthies S, Stallforth P, Seeberger PH (2015) Total Synthesis of Legionaminic Acid as Basis for Serological Studies J Am Chem Soc 137, 2848-2851. Details

Cavallari M, Stallforth P, Kalinichenko A, Rathwell DCK, Gronewold TMA, Adibekian A, Mori L, Landmann R, Seeberger PH, DeLibero G (2014) A semi-synthetic carbohydrate-lipid vaccine that protects against S. pneumoniae in mice Nat Chem Biol 10, 950-956. Details

Stallforth P, Clardy J (2014) Atlas for drug discovery. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 111(10), 3655-3656. Details PubMed

Stallforth P, Brock DA, Cantley AM, Tian X, Queller DC, Strassmann JE, Clardy J (2013) A bacterial symbiont is converted from an inedible producer of beneficial molecules into food by a single mutation in the gacA gene. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 110(36), 14528-14533. Details PubMed

Stallforth P, Clardy J (2013) X-ray crystallography: One size fits most. Nature 495(7442), 456-457. Details PubMed

Stallforth P, Clardy J (2012) Protein evolution: when two become three. Curr Biol 22(17), R685-R687. Details PubMed

Ohara T, Adibekian A, Esposito D, Stallforth P, Seeberger PH (2010) Towards the synthesis of a Yersinia pestis cell wall polysaccharide: enantioselective synthesis of an L-glycero-D-manno-heptose building block. Chem Commun (Camb) 46(23), 4106-4108. Details PubMed

Pragani R, Stallforth P, Seeberger PH (2010) De novo synthesis of a 2-acetamido-4-amino-2,4,6-trideoxy-D-galactose (AAT) building block for the preparation of a Bacteroides fragilis A1 polysaccharide fragment. Org Lett 12(7), 1624-1627. Details PubMed

Stallforth P, Adibekian A, Seeberger PH (2008) De novo synthesis of a D-galacturonic acid thioglycoside as key to the total synthesis of a glycosphingolipid from Sphingomonas yanoikuyae. Org Lett 10(8), 1573-1576. Details PubMed

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