Collaborative Research Centers

Among childhood cancers, neuroblastoma is the third most common type of malignant tumour. Due to therapy resistance and early metastasis, relapses are frequent and the mortality rate is therefore high. According to the latest molecular findings, this is due to the unusually complex process of tumour development – and there are many non-genetic causes. Against this background, the goal of the CRC 1588 is to analyse the tumour’s own mechanisms, decode signalling pathways and clarify how the interactions of tumour cells with their micro- and macro-environment contribute to evolution. In this way, the aim is to improve individual treatment strategies in the long term.

Locations: Berlin, Würzburg

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Markus Bohnsack (Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin)

Duration: since 2023

Further information can be found here.

The synthesis of cellular ribonucleic acids (RNAs), proteins and macromolecular complexes and thus the identity of cells is determined by gene expression. Interestingly, research in recent years suggests that gene expression is not just a linear sequence of otherwise independent cellular events, but a dynamic network of closely interconnected processes. The overarching goal of the CRC 1565 is therefore the analysis of regulatory mechanisms in different gene expression systems and thus the establishment of a new understanding of gene expression as a determining network of interconnected cellular processes.

Locations: Berlin, Göttingen, Würzburg

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Markus Bohnsack (Georg-August-Universität Göttingen)

Duration: since 2023

Further information can be found here.

Autoimmune diseases are chronic inflammatory diseases that affect around 8% of the population in industrialized countries. Current therapies for autoimmune diseases are only partially effective, mostly based on unselective immunosuppression and can be associated with serious side effects. The SFB 1526 investigates the development of antibody-mediated autoimmune diseases with the aim of developing new strategies for the diagnosis and treatment of these diseases.

Locations: Lübeck, Kiel, Erlangen-Nuremberg, Würzburg

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Christian David Sadik (Universität zu Lübeck)

Duration: since 2022

Further information can be found here.

Non-myocytes (NM), including interstitial and immune cells such as fibroblasts and macrophages, endothelial cells, adipocytes, or neurons, represent the majority of cells present in the heart and are key factors in the maintenance and repair of cardiac structure and function. They are therefore also a potential target for therapeutic interventions. The aim of the CRC 1425 is therefore to comprehensively characterize NM identities and their interactions and to derive implications for novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.

Location: Bonn, Frankfurt a. Main, Freiburg, Heidelberg, Würzburg

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Peter Kohl (Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg)

Duration: since 2020

Further information can be found here.

The Collaborative Research Center (CRC1213) combines basic science approaches and bedside clinical research in a highly interactive network with the aim to elucidate the pathogenic sequelae underlying PH and cor pulmonale and to evaluate novel treatment concepts. 

Location: Gießen, Würzburg, Marburg

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Norbert Weißmann (Universitätsklinikum Gießen und Marburg)

Duration: since 2016

Further information can be found here.

Chronic pathological pain is a global problem for our healthcare systems and a challenge for both basic and clinical research. One obstacle is the insufficient elucidation of the neural basis of the complex and multidimensional pain process as well as the various maladaptive plasticity mechanisms. In addition, chronic pain is associated with many comorbid mental disorders. The primary goal of the CRC 1158 is to understand the structure-function relationships of cells, circuits and networks and to analyze how these are changed during the transition from acute to chronic pain.

Locations: Bonn, Heidelberg, Saarbrücken, Würzburg

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Rohini Kuner (Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg)

Duration: since 2015

Further information can be found here.

The CRC 1066 investigates the use of nanoparticulate drug carriers (NP) in tumor immunotherapy. Novel polymer- and lipid-based NP are being synthesized, chemically characterized and their application in complex biological systems is being investigated from bench to bedside. The aim is to activate the immune system of tumor patients in such a way that tumors can effectively be recognized and destroyed by the body's own immune defense.

Locations: Saarbrücken, Würzburg

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Stephan Grabbe (Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz)

Duration: 2013-2025

Further information can be found here.

How could molecules in a prebiotic setting have created robust Darwinian evolution and created the first sequence information of Life? This CRC brings together expertise from a wide range of fields, including geosciences, chemistry, biophysics, biochemistry and theory, to bring this age-old question to a solution.

Locations: München, Würzburg, Heidelberg, Dortmund, Augsburg, Stuttgart

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Dieter Braun (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München)

Duration: since 2024

Further information can be found here.

The proposed initiative unites major German sites with expertise in neurobiological and clinical aggression research in a joint endeavor to advance knowledge on the biological bases of aggression in mental disorders (AMD) and its developmental course.

Locations: Aachen, Frankfurt, Heidelberg, Mainz, Würzburg

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Ute Häbel (Universitätsklinikum Aachen)

Duration: since 2024

Further information can be found here.

The CRC TRR “Perinatal development of immune cell topology (PILOT)” aims to explore mechanisms that direct perinatal differentiation of immune cells and their cellular environment. PILOT will dissect how preprogrammed developmental traits and perinatal exogenous cues integrate to steer immune cell differentiation, establish immune homeostasis and provide immunity to infections.

Locations: Freiburg, München, Würzburg, Magdeburg, Aachen

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Philipp Henneke (Universitätsklinikum Freiburg)

Duration: since 2023

Further information can be found here.

One of the major risk factors for global disability and death is alcohol, tobacco and illicit drug use. Drug use can become compulsive but we still have little understanding of the modulating factors and mechanisms involved in losing and regaining control over drug intake. The main goals of TRR 265 are (i) to study modifying factors (e.g. age, gender, childhood adversity) that longitudinally modulate the trajectories of losing and regaining control over drug consumption in real-life conditions, (ii) to study underlying behavioral, cognitive and molecular mechanisms of disease trajectories, and (iii) to provide non-invasive mechanism-based interventions. 

Locations: Heidelberg, Berlin, Dresden, Würzburg, Karlsruhe, Potsdam

Speaker: Prof. Dr. Rainer Spanagel (Zentralinstitut für Seelische Gesundheit)

Duration: since 2019

Further information can be found here.