With renewed support as a Cluster of Excellence under the Excellence Strategy of the German state and federal governments, CIBSS – Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies – will intensify its efforts to deliver breakthroughs in understanding the molecular language of life. Thanks to the achievements made during the first funding period, CIBSS is now in a position to truly shift paradigms in the field in the upcoming term.
From 2026 to 2032, research will focus on three core mechanistic concepts in signal integration: how signalling processes are organised spatially, how signals are interpreted in different contexts, and how signalling information is stored and used to make decisions. This positions CIBSS as a major player in basic life science research and will contribute to global progress in signalling studies, laying the groundwork for transformative solutions in health, agriculture, and biotechnology.
The funding will also support the establishment of new professorships and junior research groups, as well as the development of cutting-edge signalling technologies, accelerating and opening up entirely new possibilities for signalling research in Freiburg.
CIBSS has acquired renewed funding to spearhead next-generation integrative signalling research at the University of Freiburg
On 22 May 2025, the Excellence Commission announced its positive funding decision for CIBSS. This major boost to biological signalling research reinforces CIBSS’s role as a leading centre for basic life science research and innovation.
"This funding decision is a tremendous acknowledgment of the scientific progress our Cluster has delivered so far, a strong endorsement of our ambitious research concept to define new frontiers in signalling research, and a major boost for basic research in the life sciences,” stated Professors Wolfgang Driever, Carola Hunte, Jürgen Kleine-Vehn, and Claudine Kraft, the current and designated speakers of CIBSS. “Integral to this success is the practical interdisciplinarity within CIBSS and the long-standing collaborations with our key partners the University Medical Center Freiburg and the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics. Together, we will deepen our research into how biological signals are generated, contextualised, and integrated, while also making a major push towards translating fundamental discoveries and cutting-edge signalling technologies into real-world applications.”
Today’s announcement also marks significant funding acquisitions for another successful Cluster initiative in Freiburg, Future Forests, which highlights the collective strength of the University of Freiburg in advancing cutting-edge research across multiple disciplines.
Following the approval of two proposals within the Cluster of Excellence funding line, the University of Freiburg will be eligible to apply for the status of a University of Excellence on November 12, 2025. This will substantially strengthen the university as an institution, enabling it to consolidate its top position in international research, with far-reaching positive effects on all areas of the university: research, studies, teaching, operations, and service.