My research focuses on mitochondrial mutations and associated disorders. Specifically, it centers around the NAD/NADH redox state.I have refined NADH autofluorescence imaging to visualize mitochondrial function with high spatial resolution. This enables to determine selective mitochondrial dysfunction for example in specific cell types or mitochondrial subpopulations and to evaluate targeted treatments for defect mitochondria.

In addition, NADH imaging allows to quantify cytosolic and mitochondrial NAD/NADH redox state, which plays an important role in mitochondrial-nuclear signaling. I am intrigued to determine the differential role of the NAD/NADH redox state and other mitochondrial metabolites in epigenetic regulation, for examples via the sirtuins. In particular, I am interested in assessing how the redox state is involved in mitochondria modifying exercise physiology and exercise response.

      Kopinski PK, Janssen KA, Schaefer PM, et al. Regulation of nuclear epigenome by mitochondrial

               DNA heteroplasmy. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2019;116(32):16028-16035.

Schaefer PM, Kalinina S, Rueck A, von Arnim CAF, von Einem B. NADH Autofluorescence-A Markeron its Way to Boost Bioenergetic Research. Cytometry A 2018.

Schaefer PM,Hilpert D, Niederschweiberer M, Neuhauser L, Kalinina S, Calzia E, Rueck A, von Einem B, von Arnim CA. Mitochondrial Matrix pH as a Decisive Factor in Neurometabolic Imaging. Neurophotonics  2017;4:045004

 Schaefer PM, von Einem B, Walther P, Calzia E, & vonArnim CA. MetabolicCharacterization of Intact Cells Reveals Intracellular Amyloid Beta but Not ItsPrecursor Protein to Reduce Mitochondrial Respiration. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0168157.

Kalinina S, Breymayer J, Schäfer P, Calzia E, Shcheslavskiy V, Becker W, & Rück A. Correlative NAD(P)H-FLIM and oxygen sensing-PLIM for metabolic mapping. J Biophotonics 2016.