Approval of the German Research Foundation boosts JGU's research profile
20 May 2026
Five Collaborative Research Center (CRC) applications involving Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) have proved successful in the current German Research Foundation (DFG) funding round. As announced by the DFG, the following CRC is to be newly established with JGU acting as speaker university: CRC/TRR 460 'Dynamics of Immunological, Glial, and Neuronal Network Interaction'. Also newly instituted is the following CRC 1784 'The Interplay of Thrombosis and Inflammation – Translating Molecular Mechanisms into Clinical Applications (InTraC)' (speaker university: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München), in which Mainz University will be participating. Funding of the following three CRCs that involve JGU has been extended: CRC/TRR 234 'Light-Driven Molecular Catalysts in Hierarchically Structured Materials – Synthesis and Mechanistic Studies' (speaker university: Ulm University), CRC 1487 'Iron, upgraded!' (speaker university: Technical University of Darmstadt), and CRC 1531 'Damage Control by the Stroma-Vascular Compartment' (speaker university: Goethe University Frankfurt).
"Our success in obtaining approval of the various Collaborative Research Centers confirms both JGU's excellent track record in research and the effectiveness of our research strategy. This success is enabling us to reinforce our status as a hub of outstanding and future-oriented research while also further augmenting our research profile," stated Professor Stefan Müller-Stach, JGU Vice President for Research and Academic Careers. "We should like to thank the scientists working at JGU who are participating in the Collaborative Research Centers. It is their extraordinary achievements that have made this outcome possible."
Clemens Hoch, Rhineland-Palatinate Minister for Science, Further Education and Health, added: "The impressive contributions of the researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and their partners in the cooperating institutions demonstrate the high level at which scientific and medical endeavors are being undertaken in Rhineland-Palatinate. The recent funding decisions made by the DFG make clear how effective the collaboration is while confirming the exceptional standing of our universities. Through our Research Initiative designed for the universities of Rhineland-Palatinate, we have been able to put in place the groundwork that will allow for targeted promotion of top-level research areas and will add to the visibility of the science hubs. The current target agreements ensure a positive outlook for the coming years."
CRC/TRR 460: Dynamics of Immunological, Glial, and Neuronal Network Interaction
Speaker university: JGU
The new CRC/TRR 460 'Dynamics of Immunological, Glial, and Neuronal Network Interaction' focuses on how immune cells, glial cells, and neurons are linked in the brain and what form of changes the corresponding cellular networks undergo in the presence of disorders. The clinical research team headed by Professor Stefan Bittner and Professor Frauke Zipp from the Department of Neurology at the University Medical Center Mainz and Sven Meuth, Director of the Department of General Neurology of Münster University Hospital, will be looking in particular at neurological and psychiatric diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, depression, and other forms of neuropsychiatric illness, including dementia. The researchers intend to use their findings, over the long term, to be able to better predict disease progression and to develop innovative treatment approaches designed to influence the cellular networks.
It has long been assumed that the blood-brain barrier acts as a largely effective shield against the immune system, thus protecting the susceptible nervous system against inflammation. The projects being sponsored by the DFG will continue the internationally eminent work already undertaken in Mainz and Münster that has revealed that immune cells closely interact with neurons and so-called glial cells. Among other things, glial cells supply neurons with nutrients and support them when it comes to transmitting signals. At the same time, they play important roles in connection with cerebral inflammatory processes. Should the cellular networks become unbalanced, this can facilitate the onset of neurological and psychiatric disorders and exacerbate any existing diseases. For this reason, the members of the new CRC/TRR 460 will be examining how these cellular networks regulate healthy cerebral functions and what alterations are prompted by disease processes. They will be employing state-of-the-art analytical methods for this purpose. These will include multiome analysis, single-cell sequencing, and high-resolution imaging techniques, including magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetoencephalography (MEG). The cellular networks will be investigated in artificial environments in vitro as well as in animal models, while computer-aided modeling will also be employed. Clinical trials will supplement these methods.
The spokesperson of CRC/TRR 460 is Professor Stefan Bittner, senior physician at the Department of Neurology of University Medical Center Mainz. Co-spokespersons are Professor Frauke Zipp, Director of the Department of Neurology of University Medical Center Mainz, and Professor Sven Meuth of Münster University Hospital. Other partners of the research consortium are Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, the University of Cologne, and Forschungszentrum Jülich. The DFG will be financing the project to the tune of more than EUR 12 million.
CRC/TRR 234: Light-Driven Molecular Catalysts in Hierarchically Structured Materials – Synthesis and Mechanistic Studies
Speaker university: Ulm University
The CRC/TRR 234 'Light-Driven Molecular Catalysts in Hierarchically Structured Materials – Synthesis and Mechanistic Studies (CataLight)' has been granted a third funding period. This research collaboration is investigating the fundamental aspects of sunlight-driven catalysis based on the model of natural photosynthesis. Molecular photosensitizers and catalysts are embedded in functional soft matter matrices, such as polymers and biopolymers, in order to create artificial photosynthetic architectures. These can transform sunlight directly into chemical energy – for example, in the form of green hydrogen by means of light-driven splitting of water. In this new funding period, the emphasis will be on complete integration of the developed material systems in flow photoreactors equipped with online analytics and the targeted replacement of noble metal-based compounds by more sustainable alternatives. It is expected that the combination of cutting-edge experimental techniques and high-quality quantum chemical calculations will lead to in-depth insights into the reactivity of these systems across various dimensional and time scales.
Professor Carsten Streb of the Department of Chemistry is participating on behalf of JGU. In the CataLight project, his team is developing innovative, noble metal-free catalysts to be used for light-driven water oxidation and hydrogen generation, together with 3D printing techniques that can be employed to create microstructured photoreactors. In this new funding period, the DFG will be providing some EUR 14 million to the CRC/TRR over four years. Also participating, in addition to Ulm University acting as the speaker university, are Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Carl von Ossietzky University Oldenburg, the University of Vienna, the Leibniz Institute of Photonic Technology in Jena, the Leibniz Institute of Surface Engineering in Leipzig, and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz.
CRC 1487: Iron, upgraded!
Speaker university: Technical University of Darmstadt
If our future is to be sustainable, we need to fundamentally reconsider our attitude to materials and processes that are reliant on rare, toxic, or problematic elements. Elements such as this are present in modern electronics products, catalysts used by the chemical industry, and magnetic materials designed for technical applications. The aim of CRC 1487 'Iron, upgraded' is to deal with this global challenge. As a result of the significant scientific results it has produced to date, the CRC will, from summer 2026, continue to be financed by the DFG in a second funding period to the end of 2029.
Headed by spokesperson Professor Ulrike Kramm of TU Darmstadt, the CRC brings together specific expertise on the element iron contributed by the two other Rhine-Main Universities in Frankfurt and Mainz as well as partner universities in Heidelberg, Paderborn, and Bayreuth, together with the Technical University of Munich and the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Energy Conversion. Also involved is Professor Angela Möller of the JGU Department of Chemistry.
Iron is a ubiquitous, cheap, environmentally friendly element. Its versatility makes it the ideal precursor for the development of new, sustainable, and functional materials that can be employed, for instance, for catalysis and in magnetic applications. However, wider use of this element is prevented because of its high and often uncontrollable reactivity. The core concept of CRC 1487 is to modulate the environment of iron with the help of chemistry so that the element's reactivity and properties can be subjected to targeted control, the result being that these can then be exploited for sustainable applications. There is a wide range of potential uses – in catalysis for the sustainable industrial production of basic chemicals, in fuel cells for the automotive sector, and in innovative magnetic materials that can be employed in cooling systems and wind turbines.
CRC 1531: Damage Control by the Stroma-Vascular Compartment
Speaker university: Goethe University Frankfurt
The DFG has approved a first-time funding extension to CRC 1531 'Damage Control by the Stroma-Vascular Compartment'. The CRC investigates how cells in the connective tissue of the heart, brain, and blood vessels respond to damage. The researchers are examining how damaged organ tissue heals and restores functionality as well as which cells are involved and how they interact. The goal of this CRC is to control cell damage responses and thus improve tissue healing and resilience to trauma.
University Medical Center Mainz is contributing to CRC 1531 with a project of its own. Within the framework of sub-project 'Vascular phenotype and fibrosis control by phosphatases,' the researchers from Mainz are supporting the CRC with their specific expertise in vascular biology. A team led by Professor Katrin Schäfer, head of the Translational Vascular Biology group at the Department of Cardiology at University Medical Center Mainz, is investigating the response of blood vessels to damage and in particular the role of phosphatases in controlling damage responses. Phosphatases are a group of enzymes that also have a decisive influence on cells in connective tissues, the so-called stroma-vascular compartment. These enzymes offer a promising research approach because they affect the blood vessel scarring process, also known as vascular fibrosis.
The spokesperson of CRC 1531 is Professor Ralf Brandes, Director of the Institute of Cardiovascular Physiology (Physiology I) at the University Hospital of Goethe University Frankfurt. Further cooperation partners include the University of Heidelberg and the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim. CRC 1531 will receive around EUR 14.5 million for the four years of the second funding period. Two of the partners in the strategic Rhine-Main Universities alliance – the universities in Frankfurt and Mainz – are again joining forces in this CRC.
CRC 1784: The Interplay of Thrombosis and Inflammation – Translating Molecular Mechanisms into Clinical Applications (InTrac)
Speaker university: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
The purpose of the new CRC 1784 'The Interplay of Thrombosis and Inflammation – Translating Molecular Mechanisms into Clinical Applications' is to investigate the interactions between undesirable blood coagulation and inflammatory reactions. These processes play a central role in disorders such as cardiovascular diseases, inflammation, and vascular damage. The aim is to better understand how inflammation influences the formation of thromboses, and how coagulation processes, in their turn, can exacerbate inflammation. The long-term goals are to be able to detect pathological processes at an early stage with the help of the research results, thus providing more targeted treatment, and to develop new approaches to diagnosis, prevention, and the therapy of so-called thromboinflammatory disorders. With this in mind, the research collaboration will be employing a translational approach to obtain insights through fundamental research that can be converted to clinical applications as rapidly as possible. The researchers will be making use of cutting-edge microbiological techniques, such as so-called multi-omics analysis, a method combining data on genes, proteins, and metabolic products. Also to be employed are bioinformatics analysis together with innovative animal models and imaging techniques. The researchers also aim to develop innovative treatment concepts, including RNA-based approaches, gene, and cell-based therapeutic strategies.
Participating in CRC 1784 on the part of University Medical Center Mainz are Magdalena Bochenek, Professor Christoph Reinhardt, and Professor Wolfram Ruf of the Center for Thrombosis and Hemostasis, Professor Katrin Schäfer of the Department of Cardiology, and PD Nadine Müller-Calleja of the Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine. The spokesperson is Professor Steffen Massberg, Director of Medical Clinic and Polyclinic I of the University Hospital of Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München. The project is to receive some EUR 12.8 in funding.