MDC Berlin

And a celebration it was: After two years of virtual graduation ceremonies due to Covid-19, doctoral students at the Max Delbrück Center were once again able to receive their graduation certificates live on stage.

The Max Delbrück Center is a partner of the doctoral network GetRadi, which was started in September. Young scientists who want to learn how to develop gene therapies for rare diseases can apply to be a part of the EU-funded project until October 20.

A new therapeutic agent may offer hope to young people suffering from a severe form of muscle cancer. As a research team led by Anton Henssen reports in “Nature Communications”, this agent prevents the repair of DNA damage in cancer cells, ultimately causing their death.

Two artworks by sculptor Anna Franziska Schwarzbach have been unveiled at the Berlin-Buch campus to honor two outstanding women scientists of the 20th century. This special occasion, timed to coincide with the 119th birthday of the elder sister, Marthe Vogt, also marked the launch of the new CAMPUSart project.

Klaus Rajewsky’s life reads like a chronicle of immunogenetics. He grasped the opportunities offered by radical changes in molecular biology. He established standard methods for researching gene functions and diseases like cancer. And he continues to contribute to our understanding of antibody-producing B cells.

Their name rarely appears on a paper. And yet, without them there would be no publications: Staff members who work in the background to ensure that research runs smoothly at the Max Delbrück Center. Every year at the summer party, the most dedicated among them are honored with the Silent Hero Award.

Errors in cellular RNA metabolism are dangerous for nerve cells. For her work in this area, Marina Chekulaeva has now been accepted into the DFG Heisenberg program.

What role do a common receptor and diet play in chronic inflammation? That is the question that the Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC) and other partners will pursue over the next three years in a consortium project funded by the BMBF.

Viola Ehrig is the green-fingered gardener who works hard to ensure it’s not only science and innovation that flourish at the Berlin-Buch campus, but trees and flowers as well. She and her colleague Steve Kossack provide stimulating surroundings for everyone at the science campus, including employees of the MDC.

Mammals possess a gene that controls a novel structure in nerve cells. Researchers at the Max Delbrück Center and the Milner Centre for Evolution have discovered it and describe it in the journal „Molecular Biology and Evolution”.