Excellence in Research

Prof. Werner ARBER

Medicine

• Nobel laureate in Medicine (1978), Professor in Microbiology at the Biozentrum Basel, President of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences

Prof. Pierre CHAMBON

Genetics & Molecular and Cellular Biology

• Lasker Prize
• Founder of the Institut de Génétique et de Biologie Moléculaire et Cellulaire ( IGBMC –Institut of Genetics & Molecular and Cellular Biology ) and the Institut Clinique de la Souris ( ICS – Mouse Clinical Institute)

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Prof. Hans-Joachim GÜNTHERODT

Nanotechnology

• Professor of Experimental Physics at the University of Basel. Founder and Honorary President of the NCCR Nanoscale Science and the Swiss Nano Science Institute (SNI)

Prof. Jules HOFFMANN

Medecine

• Nobel Prize in Medicine (2011)
• Distinguished Class Research Director at CNRS (Emeritus) and Group Leader,
• Past President of the French National Academy of Sciences (2007-2008)
• Member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences Molecular and Cellular Biology Institut

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Prof. Martin KARPLUS

Chemistry

• Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2013)
• Director of the chemistry and biophysic Institute at ISIS – University of Strasbourg
• Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA

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Prof. Georges J.F. KÖHLER
(† 1995)

Immunology

• Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1984), together with Niels K. Jerne and César Milstein for their pioneering work on the immune system and the generation of monoclonal antibodies using the hybridoma technique).
• Director of the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology (MPI) in Freiburg (1984-1995).

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Prof. Jean-Marie LEHN

Chemistry

• Nobel Prize in Chemistry (1987)
• Founder and President of the Institut de Science et d’Ingénierie Supramoléculaires (ISIS — Institute of Supramolecular Science and Engineering )

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Prof. Jacques MARESCAUX

Minimal invasive surgery

• MD, FACS, Hon. FRCS, Hon. FJSES
• Professor of digestive surgery
• President of the Institut de Recherche contre les Cancers de l’Appareil Digestif (IRCAD – Research Institute Against Digestive Cancer)

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Prof. Christiane NÜSSLEIN-VOLHARD

Developmental Biology

• Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (1995), together with Edward B. Lewis and Eric F. Wieschaus for their discoveries concerning the genetic control of early embryonic development.
• 1975-1976 Postdoctoral fellow at the Biozentrum – University of Basel
• 1977 Postdoctoral fellow (DFG fellowship) at the University of Freiburg.
• Lasker Prize (1991),
• Since 1985 Scientific member of the Max-Planck-Society and Director at the Max-Planck-Institute for Developmental Biology, Genetics Division, Tübingen.

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Prof. Michael RETH

Immunology

• 1989 he joined Nobel laureate George Köhler’s laboratory at the Max Planck Institute and later on was appointed Chair of Molecular Immunology at the University of Freiburg.
• The Gottfried Willhelm Leibniz Prize of the German Research Foundation in 1995 and the EFIS-Schering-Plough European Immunology Prize in 2009
• 2012 an advanced grant by the European Research Council (ERC).
• 2014 he was awarded by the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize.

Prof. Jean-Pierre Sauvage

Chemistry

• Nobel Prize in Chemistry (2016) together with Sir J. Fraser Stoddart and Bernard L. Feringa for the design and synthsesis of molecular machines.
• Director Emeritus for research at CNRS and professor emeritus at the University of Strasbourg
• Distinguished from the CNRS bronze medal in 1978 and the CNRS Silver Medal in 1988
• Since 1997, member of the Academy of Sciences and member of the American Chemical Society

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Prof. Harald ZUR HAUSEN

Virology

• Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (2008).
• In 1977 he was appointed as Chairman of the Institute of Virology of the University of Freiburg.
• From 1983 until 2003 Chairman of the Management Board and Scientific Director of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) in Heidelberg and professor of medicine at the University of Heidelberg.

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Freiburg

Computational Neuroscience and Neurotechnology

• The Bernstein Center Freiburg (BCF) is the central research facility at the University of Freiburg for coordinating research in the areas of Computational Neuroscience and Neurotechnology.
• It combines a large number of third-party funded research projects in the experimental and theoretical neurosciences and their applications in computer science, microsystems technology, and clinical use, pursued at nine faculties, institutes and research facilities of the university into a large, multidisciplinary research hub.
• The BCF also fosters and implements new teaching and training initiatives, in particular the multidisciplinary international PhD and Postdoc programmes in Computational Neuroscience and Neurotechnology, and the tri-national Joint Master in Neuroscience, based in Freiburg, Strasbourg and Basel, organised through the tri-national network Neurex.

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Freiburg

Synthetic Biology

• The Excellence Cluster Centre for Biological Signalling Studies (BIOSS) uses modern analytical methods and strategies of synthetic biology to study biological signalling processes in a creative and playful way.
• The main focus of research at BIOSS is to initiate and promote a dialectic process between scientists using analytical (dissecting) and synthetic (rebuilding) approaches in signalling research.

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Basel

Basic Molecular and biomolecular research and teaching

• The Biozentrum is the largest department at the University of Basel’s Faculty of Science.
• The primary focus of this interdisciplinary institute is basic molecular and biomedical research and teaching.
• The Biozentrum holds a leading position nationally and internationally, closely networks with partners from the academic world and industry and is an integral part of the education and research landscape.

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Freiburg

Cancer Research

• The Tumorzentrum Ludwig Heilmeyer – Comprehensive Cancer Center Freiburg (CCCF) was named an oncological center of excellence in 2007, one of the first four in Germany to be specially funded by the German Cancer Aid.

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Freiburg

Immunodeficiency Research

• The CCI is an independent clinic within the University Medical Center Freiburg devoted to immunodeficiency research, diagnosis and patient care. This innovative program allows biologists and medical specialists in various fields to work closely together, and to coordinate efforts in transferring the results of basic research into patient treatment.

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Basel

Systems Biology

• The D-BSSE is a ETZH department dedicated to interdisciplinary research and development in the area of life sciences. As research in the area of life sciences has moved beyond simply describing plants and animals more detailed information and new technologies become available.
• The gained knowledge will lead to scientific discoveries, will also be used to improve the world as we know it. The D-BSSE aims to be at the forefront of this development, which exploits biological findings and uses them as a basis for development in areas such as medicine, pharmacology, and improvement of public health.

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Freiburg

Materials Research

• The Freiburg Materials Research Center is a central research institute of the University of Freiburg, which has been successfully doing interdisciplinary basic research as well as specific third-party research in the field of new materials and materials-related technologies.
• Its work leads to innovations in the areas of functional inorganic materials, polymeric materials, medical diagnosis (FM&M), biofunctional materials, bionics, energy technology (solar etc.), nanotechnology and microsystems technology.

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Basel

Biomedical Research

• The Friedrich Miescher Institute is devoted to fundamental biomedical research aimed at understanding the basic molecular mechanisms of health and disease. We communicate and patent our findings to enable their translation into medical application.

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Freiburg

Biology of complex systems – systems biology

• The Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) is at the core of the institutional strategy “Windows for Research”, which carried the University of Freiburg to success in the Federal and State Governments’ Excellence Initiative in 2007.
• The institute’s scholarships provide freedom for excellent research. The FRIAS is focusing initially on four disciplines, including life sciences as an amalgam of biochemistry, molecular cell biology, applied sciences, neurosciences, mathematics, physics, and the humanities. They are thus a successful and internationally recognized model for interdisciplinary teaching and learning in and of themselves.

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Illkirch

Genetics & Molecular and Cellular Biology

• One of Europe’s five great biomedical research centres (750 employees, including 380 researchers and 47 world ranked research teams)
• The IGBMC is at the forefront of scientific and technological advances in genetics, the future of modern medicine.

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Freiburg

Microsystem Engineering

• The IMTEK is unique in Europe. The scientific scope of the institute, with 21 faculty and over 300 research and technical staff, encompasses nearly all technical fields relevant to the highly interdisciplinary world of microsystem technology.
• It is one of the internationally leading academic research departments in this dynamic and innovative field.

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Strasbourg

Minimal surgery

• Presided by the renowned Prof. Jacques Marescaux (MD, Hon. FRCS, Hon. FJSES, FACS), IRCAD is internationally known today as the ultimate reference in minimally invasive surgery.
• With more than 2,500 publications and scientific papers presented internationally, IRCAD trains nearly 3,500 surgeons from throughout the world every year.

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Strasbourg

Supramolecular Science and Engineering

• ISIS’s mission is to create an interface for physics, chemistry, and biology through interdisciplinary research. ISIS is composed of senior and junior laboratories as well as public and private research units.

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Karlsruhe

Biotechnology, Toxicology and Food Science, Health and Medica Engineering as well as Cellular and Structural Biology

• This competence area integrates common research interests in biology, chemistry, toxicology, medicine and engineering. It covers basic research in cell and structural biology, optimization of microbiological production processes and the use of information technology in health care. The fundamental research projects as well as the newly developed applied technologies are connected to investigations on functional biological interfaces at the KIT.

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Karlsruhe

Applied Biosciences

• The IAB was founded 2005 by merging the previously existing Institute of Food Chemistry and Toxicology with the Institute of Microbiology.
• It consists of four departments, the Department of Food Chemistry , Food Toxicology , Genetics and Microbiology. In addition the group Plant-Microbe Interactions, a subdivision of the Botanical Institute, is part of the IAB.
• Furthermore the research focus Mycotoxins and the Nadicom GmbH are included into the Institute.

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Freiburg

Cancer Therapy and Research

• The Klinik für Tumorbiologie – Tumor Biology Center was founded in 1993 as a novel and unique institution within Germany.
• The Center has a close relationship with the Albert-Ludwigs-University in Freiburg, which is reflected in its special title „An-Institut an der Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg“.
• It is a center of excellence for cancer treatment and research which combines acute medical care with modern diagnostics and therapies with supportive care including rehabilitation strategies.
• It encompasses the Clinic for Medical.
• Oncology (80 beds), the Oncological Rehabilitation Clinic (120 beds) and a large Research Department with 3500 square meters lab space.

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Freiburg

Molecular Immunology, Developmental Biology and Epigenetics

• The MPI is an interdisciplinary research institution of the Max Planck Society.
• The scope of the science currently conducted at the MPI spans diverse areas of modern immunobiology and developmental biology, including the evolutionary origin of the immune system, the development of the lymphoid organs, signaling through antigen receptor complexes, host-pathogen interactions, developmental signaling pathways, regulation of gene expression and chromatin structure, cell-cell interactions and cell differentiation.
• Currently, over 330 people are employed at the Institute.

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Freiburg

Genomics, Proteomics, Metabolomics, and Life Imaging

• The ZBSA is the first research center in Germany to combine, in one institute, systems biological data acquisition in the research fields of genomics, proteomics, metabolomics, life imaging and modeling. They are completed by the modeling engineers, consisting of mathematicians, physicians, and computer engineers. Beside these permanent institutions, the life science faculties have various project groups that reside at the ZBSA.

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