Prof. Dr. Daniel Andergassen
Academic Career and Research Areas
Professor Andergassen (*1984) bridges computational and experimental sciences to understand how the non-coding genome and sex chromosomes contribute to sex differences in disease. His lab focuses particularly on genes that escape female X chromosome inactivation, leading to higher gene dosage in females (XX) compared to males (XY). Combining sequencing technologies with genetic and disease models, his research aims to identify sex-specific regulatory mechanisms and develop RNA-based therapies for sex-specific treatments.
He received his Ph.D. from the University of Vienna at CeMM, where he developed methods to study allele-specific gene expression. As a postdoc at Harvard, he used CRISPR and computational approaches to study the structure of the inactive X chromosome. His lab, established at TUM in 2020, discovered that aging promotes reactivation of the inactive X, revealing a new epigenetic mechanism that may explain sex differences in aging. In 2026, he became W2 Professor of RNA Pharmacology and Gene Regulation.
Key Publications (all publications)
Hoelzl S, Hasenbein TP, Engelhardt S, Andergassen D. “Aging promotes reactivation of the Barr body at distal chromosome regions.” Nature Aging. 2025.
AbstractHasenbein TP, Hoelzl S, Engelhardt S, Andergassen D*. “Allele-specific genomics decodes gene targets and mechanisms of the non-coding genome.” Nucleic Acids Research. 2025.
AbstractHasenbein TP, Hoelzl S, Smith ZD, Gerhardinger C, Gonner MOC, Aguilar-Pimentel A, Amarie OV, Becker L, Calzada-Wack J, Dragano NRV, da Silva-Buttkus P, Garrett L, Hölter SM, Kraiger M, Östereicher MA, Rathkolb B, Sanz-Moreno A, Spielmann N, Wurst W, Gailus-Durner V, Fuchs H, Hrabě de Angelis M, Meissner A, Engelhardt S, Rinn JL*, Andergassen D*. “X-linked deletion of Crossfirre, Firre, and Dxz4 in vivo uncovers diverse phenotypes and combinatorial effects on autosomes.” Nature Communications. 2024.
AbstractAndergassen D*, Rinn JL*. “From genotype to phenotype: genetics of mammalian long non-coding RNAs in vivo.” Nature Reviews Genetics. 2021.
AbstractAndergassen D*, Smith ZD*, Kretzmer H, Rinn JL, Meissner A. “Diverse epigenetic mechanisms maintain parental imprints within the embryonic and extraembryonic lineages.” Developmental Cell. 2021.
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