On 22nd of August, 2024, the Cluster of Excellence CIBSS submitted its full proposal for a second funding phase to the German Research Foundation (DFG) within the framework of the Excellence Strategy competition of the German federal and state governments.

“We are grateful to the entire CIBSS community for their engagement in this joint effort. The proposal for a second funding phase advances our collaborative research concept and opens new perspectives for integrative biological signalling sciences,” said CIBSS present and future speaker team members Prof. Dr. Carola Hunte, Prof. Dr. Claudine Kraft, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Driever, and Prof. Dr. Jürgen Kleine-Vehn. “A challenge in the life sciences today is to understand how cells integrate the multitude of signals into decisions that control growth, health and disease. CIBSS focuses on fundamental research to understand the mechanisms of biological signalling integration, and to develop this knowledge into innovations to address urgent issues in health and plant sciences.”

The submitted proposal is the culmination of the work of leading experts from the University of Freiburg, the Medical Center – University of Freiburg, and the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics – working in more than 70 research groups and integrating knowledge from across more than 10 disciplines, ranging from cell and developmental biology, genetics, biochemistry, structural biology, molecular and synthetic biology, immunology, and plant sciences to bioinformatics, ethics, and law. The new programme builds on the collaborative interdisciplinary spirit and commitment of the CIBSS research community in advancing integrative biological signalling studies. The renewal proposal now seeks to secure funding for the next 7 year, from 1 January 2026.

This research programme will be bolstered and complemented by extensive measures to support early career researchers, foster international research collaboration and enhance science communication.

Read more on our current “Vision” and “Research Programme”.

CIBSS-Profile of Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Driever

CIBSS-Profile of Prof. Dr. Carola Hunte

CIBSS-Profile of Prof. Dr. Jürgen Kleine-Vehn

CIBSS-Profile of Prof. Dr. Claudine Kraft