The division worked for a long time on the human chromosomal region Xq28 to develop and apply technologies for the systematic genomic and functional genomic analysis of the human genome. The mapping and transcript identification methods contributed essentially to the identification of a number of disease genes and to the sequencing of the genome.
Since, the focus of the work has expanded into cancer research, where we apply high-throughput and detailed analysis at genomic, transcriptomic and proteomic levels to unravel mechanisms of development and progression of breast cancer.

In functional profiling we identify cancer-relevant genes by establishing and applying cell-based screens, utilizing ORF resources and RNAi.

Proteomics projects focus on the development of protein technologies, and their application in large-scale qualitative and quantitative analysis of proteins.

Integrative Cell Biology projects investigate cancer relevant processes in the context of functional modules and aim to unravel mechnisms of drug resistance.

Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Signaling in tumor development and progression is investigated at the protein and miRNA levels, to understand the interplay of these upon cancer.

The Genetics of Autism Spectrum has for long been investigated as a prototype for polygenetic disorders, where we identify and functionally characterize candidate genes and proteins.

The primary data that is collected in the diverse projects of the division is integrated through databases and tools within Bioinformatics and Modeling. These are are developed and applied to extract statistically significant information and to model gene and protein interaction networks of cellular signaling.

We have developed LIFEdb to visualize and disseminate the information that is generated in the division.