Our research is centered on studying novel oxygen-binding proteins as well as investigating the molecular mechanism of cellular response to reduced oxygen supply (hypoxia) using a broad variety of in vitro and in vivo molecular techniques complemented by bioinformatical approaches. We aim to elucidate the (patho)physiological role of particularly androglobin and cytoglobin, two recently identified mammalian globins from the post-genomic era. Androglobin represents the latest addition to the globin family and consists of a calcium-dependent protease domain fused to a central circularly permuted globin domain. While androglobin expression is restricted to postmeiotic stages of spermatogenesis, cytoglobin is expressed mainly in fibroblasts from a broad range of organs. An additional research line aims to understand the differential regulation between the transcription factors hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1) and HIF-2 in response to hypoxia with a strong focus on distal regulatory DNA regions and oxygen-dependent erythropoietin gene expression. Apart from physiological and pathophysiological processes, including embryonic development, high-altitude adaptation, wound healing and inflammation, the mechanisms of cellular adaptation to hypoxia are of crucial importance for clinically relevant diseases such as anemia, infarction, stroke and cancer.