Dorothee Dormann studied Biochemistry at the University of Tübingen and earned her Ph.D. from The Rockefeller University in New York. Following postdoctoral research with Christian Haass at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, she led an independent Emmy Noether research group at LMU’s BioMedical Center from 2014 to 2021. In 2021, she joined Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) as Full Professor of Molecular Cell Biology.

Her research centers on the dysfunction of RNA-binding proteins in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and related neurodegenerative disorders. Her laboratory investigates the molecular mechanisms driving the mislocalization and aggregation of key RNA-binding proteins—including TDP-43 and FUS—that are central to disease pathology.