Core Areas and Research Training Groups

“Oral Sciences” is an interdisciplinary program promoting research activities in oral health related issues.

„Genomic and Molecular Medicine - Personalized Approaches to Childhood Health“ is an international and interdisciplinary Ph.D. program that offers research and training opportunities in a wide range of topics including genomics and the overall „omics“-approach to pediatric medicine as well as aspects of immunology, epigenetics and biochemistry.

"Cardiovascular Science" is a new interdisciplinary program that combines traditional natural science research areas with the cardiovascular focus of clinical medicine.

The SFB 1054 will explore control and plasticity of cell-fate decisions in the immune system, identify input signals that determine stability and flexibility of differentiation, and characterize the molecular basis for how these signals are decoded.

The main focus of the Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1123 Atherosclerosis – Mechanisms and Networks of Novel Therapeutic Targets is to study in-depth the molecular networks in atherogenesis, atheroprogression and atherothrombosis as the pathological sequence underlying coronary artery disease, in order to identify and verify novel targets for treating atherosclerosis. With this aim in mind, our CRC brings together researchers of different disciplines, institutions and universities in Munich.

The IMPRS-TP PhD program provides interdisciplinary training in molecular, cellular and systemic psychiatric research to outstanding doctoral students in an environment of scientific excellence and collaboration to foster translational research. In addition to traditional PhD positions, we offer a unique integrated PhD/residence program in psychiatry to exceptional medical doctors.

The new IMPRS - Biological Intelligence (IMPRS-BI) is an elite graduate program situated at the Max Planck Institute of the same name. It offers structured training to doctoral students interested in the question of how nervous systems develop and have evolved to allow animals to pursue their goals, navigate their environment and, more generally, produce behavioral strategies that are adapted to their respective ecological niche. Research by IMPRS-BI students often bridges several scales of biological organization, from molecules and genes to neuronal circuits, and from organisms to societies and ecosystems.

The Research Training Group "Predictors and Clinical Outcomes of Depressive Disorders in Primary Care (POKAL)" (GRK 2621) wants to support general practitioners (GPs) in the care of patients with depression. In their research training group, junior scientists will be developing clinical research in the field of general practice and thereby helping improve care structures, processes and results. It includes a comprehensive qualification concept, which enables doctoral candidates of relevant subjects, as well as prospective GPs to receive a structured scientific education parallel to their clinical training.

Over the last years, immunotherapy – using a patient’s own immune system to fight tumours – has emerged as an important complement to standard treatments. Adoptive T cell therapy (ACT), the collectioin and transformation of the patient’s own T cells to treat cancer. T-OP targets a pioneering research question: how do cytokines influence the therapeutic outcome of ACT products? T-OP brings together interdisciplinary and cross-sectorial teams spanning large and small-sized companies as well as experts in different aspects of cell therapy, immunology, protein engineering and bioinformatics. T-OP will train by research 15 Early Stage Researchers (ESR), enabling them to develop efficient therapeutic solutions and to tackle economic opportunities.

Balance and gait deficits are ubiquitous among the older population, and lead to enormous personal, occupational and health care burden. Emerging pharmacological and non-pharmacological interventions to date have only small to moderate effects on these deficits. This is likely due to remaining fundamental questions on underlying mechanisms and treatment.

Keep Control consists of a rare EU-wide combination of experts from clinical, biomechanic and neuroscience research, along with experts from the industry, who all aim at gaining a better understanding and treatment of balance and gait deficits in older adults.

Studying the signals that navigate leukocytes within the vascular system and between different compartments on the cellular and molecular level is the main focus of the SFB 914. This requires a broad metholodological spectrum ranging from molecular and cellular biology tools and physiological in vivo approaches to complex bio-imaging applications.

The SFB ended successfully in summer 2023.

IMMUTRAIN is an Innovative Training Network bringing together experts in the fields of monoclonal antibodies, dendritic cells, T-cells and immunomodulatory nucleic acids with a considerable industrial involvement. The network comprises nine academic research groups and five industrial partners in a total of nine European countries. IMMUTRAIN creates actively synergies between those sectors by forming and promoting young researchers to match the challenges of immunotherapies. Particular focus is placed on combinatorial therapies and on the new emerging field of bispecific antibodies used to target both the tumor and the patient´s immune system. 15 Ph. D. students (Early Stage Researchers, ESR) reinforced by the project leaders investigate innovative therapeutic strategies and provide the rationale for future clinical trials. Throughout their projects, ESR learn to integrate academic and industrial aspects and sharpen their experimental and complementary skills in a well-designed and diversified training program.