Collaborative Research Center on metaorganism research successfully extended
German Research Foundation continues to fund the CRC 1182 “Origin and Function of Metaorganisms” at Kiel University in a third funding phase until 2027
Last week, the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) announced that it will support the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1182 “Origin and Function of Metaorganisms” at Kiel University in a third funding phase for a further four years. The scientists of the CRC 1182 will receive a total of 13.4 million euros and can thus successfully complete their research programme within the maximum possible 12-year funding period for Collaborative Research Centers. In the final funding phase, the researchers from Kiel University and its partner institutions want to utilise the knowledge they have gained in recent years on the interaction of symbiotic microorganisms with their multicellular host organisms in order to achieve a new, integrated understanding of biology and to transfer this into innovative approaches for the benefit of human health. The DFG has thus once again confirmed the importance of this successful interdisciplinary research network at Kiel University and the special significance of metaorganism research for the further development of cutting-edge research in Schleswig-Holstein.
“On behalf of the entire university board, I would like to congratulate everyone involved in the CRC 1182 on this impressive and well-deserved success. The renewed support from the DFG highlights that Kiel University is particularly well positioned in this research area, which is central to modern life sciences and medicine, and makes a significant contribution to Kiel’s excellence in research,” emphasised Professor Eckhard Quandt, Vice President for Research at Kiel University.
Continuing the interdisciplinary research programme
The researchers of the CRC 1182 were able to convince the DFG with their highly interdisciplinary research concept and their proven scientific excellence. In addition to a very positive on-site assessment last summer, the outstanding scientific results of the past four years were particularly decisive. In around 50 high-ranking publications, the CRC 1182 has made a leading international mark on metaorganism research. The CRC’s extensive efforts on cross-cutting topics such as the promotion of young researchers and gender equality and its special commitment to dialogue with society in various public outreach projects also contributed to the excellent evaluation results.
“Our CRC now aims to take the research results obtained from various model organisms in recent years to a new level and identify generally applicable principles for the interaction between animals or plants and the associated microorganisms,” explains Professor Hinrich Schulenburg, who will head the CRC 1182 as designated spokesperson from next year onwards. In future, these universal principles of host-microbe relationships should help to learn more about the causes and treatment options for diseases that are based on unfavorable changes of the microbiome, i.e. the symbiotic microbial community of the body.
To achieve this, the researchers of the CRC 1182 will develop methods for the predictable manipulation of the microbiome. “To this end, we are continuing to investigate various host models in order to deepen our understanding of the composition and function of the metaorganism. In the future, we want to understand which factors determine the evolution and composition of the microbiome and which molecules influence the interaction of microorganisms and their hosts,” says Professor Tal Dagan, who will act as Vice Spokesperson of the CRC 1182. The researchers want to understand how the microbiome evolves under different environmental conditions in order to develop approaches for therapeutic interventions in its composition, for example.
Permanently securing an international hub for metaorganism research at Kiel University
The CRC 1182, founded in 2016, once again enters the next funding phase with around 80 scientists from six predominantly northern German institutions, who will work together in a total of 16 interdisciplinary research projects. These include scientists from the Institutes of Zoology, Clinical Molecular Biology, General Microbiology, Experimental Medicine and Botany at Kiel University, as well as researchers from the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön, the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, the Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education and the Muthesius University of Fine Arts and Design.
Together, they form a scientific network in metaorganism research that is unique in northern Germany and which they intend to maintain beyond the duration of the research center. “We are very grateful for the DFG’s continued support and see it as confirmation that our work in recent years has contributed to the further development of metaorganism research at an international level. Our goal for the future is to permanently consolidate Kiel University as an international hub of cutting-edge research and to remain competitive in this central field of research,” emphasised Professor Thomas Bosch, who successfully led the CRC 1182 during the first two funding phases.
The Collaborative Research Center “Origin and Function of Metaorganisms” is an interdisciplinary network involving around 80 researchers that investigates the interactions of specific microbial communities with multicellular host organisms. It is supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and deals with the question of how plants and animals including humans form functional units (metaorganisms) together with highly specific communities of microbes. The aim of the CRC 1182 is to understand why and how microbial communities enter into these long-term associations with their host organisms and what functional consequences these interactions have. The CRC 1182 brings together scientists from five faculties at Kiel University, the GEOMAR Helmholtz-Centre for Ocean Research Kiel, the Max-Planck-Institute for Evolutionary Biology Plön, the Heinrich-Heine-University Düsseldorf, the Leibniz Institute for Science and Mathematics Education and the Muthesius University of Fine Arts and Design.
Images are available for download:
www.uni-kiel.de/de/pressemitteilungen/2023/294-sfb1182-phase3-group.jpg
Caption: CRC 1182 at Kiel University is entering its third funding phase with around 80 scientists from six institutions and a total of 16 research projects.
Christian Urban, Kiel University
www.uni-kiel.de/de/pressemitteilungen/2019/367-sfb1182-phase2-modelorganisms.jpg
Caption: Professor Hinrich Schulenburg and Professor Tal Dagan, designated spokesperson and designated vice-spokesperson, will lead the CRC 1182 from next year.
© Gunnar Dethlefsen/EvoLUNG
www.uni-kiel.de/de/pressemitteilungen/2019/367-sfb1182-phase2-modelorganisms.jpg
Caption: Using various host models, the CRC 1182 researchers want to understand in future which factors determine the evolution and composition of the microbiome and which molecules influence the interaction between microorganisms and their hosts.
© Science Communication Lab
www.uni-kiel.de/de/pressemitteilungen/News/bosch-buchvero__ffentlichnug-autor.jpg
Caption: Professor Thomas Bosch successfully led the Collaborative Research Center 1182 in the first two funding phases.
© Christian Urban, Kiel University
Contact:
Prof. Thomas Bosch
Spokesperson CRC 1182
“Origin and Function of Metaorganisms”, Kiel University
Phone: +49 (0) 431-880-4170
Email: tbosch@zoologie.uni-kiel.de
Prof. Hinrich Schulenburg
designated Spokesperson CRC 1182
“Origin and Function of Metaorganisms”, Kiel University
Phone: +49 (0) 431-880-4141
Email: hschulenburg@zoologie.uni-kiel.de
Prof. Tal Dagan
designated Vice-Spokesperson CRC 1182
“Origin and Function of Metaorganisms”, Kiel University
Phone: +49 (0) 431 880-5712
Email: tdagan@ifam.uni-kiel.de
