Research Areas

Professor Selim's research group investigates the metabolism and the underlying signalling and transport mechanisms of organisms that use light as an energy source. The group focusses on the molecular and structural mechanisms by which photoautotrophic organisms coordinate their central carbon and nitrogen metabolism. The particular focus is on the control of CO2 metabolism using specific signalling proteins in cyanobacteria. The underlying, newly discovered PII signalling proteins link the perception of carbon resources on the one hand with that of energy sources, i.e. light, on the other.

Academic Career 

Khaled Selim studied biology and chemistry at Cairo University in Egypt. In 2019, he completed his doctorate in biology at the University of Tübingen. He then worked as a postdoc at the Max Planck Institute for Biology Tübingen and the University of Tübingen, where he also led a research group as part of the Cluster of Excellence ‘Control of Microorganisms to Fight Infections’ from 2020 to 2023. From 2023 to 2024 he was Junior Professor of Microbiology in Freiburg, and since November 2024 he has been Junior Professor of Phototrophic Microbiology at HHU.

• Emmy Noether Group leader funded by the DFG, since 2025
• Early Career Award, Federation of European Microbiological Societies
• Postdoc Award, German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology