Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine

The MDC Mission

The Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC) carries out basic biomedical research with the aim of understanding the molecular basis of health and disease, and translating these findings as quickly as possible into clinical application. The research involves the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, as well as their prevention.

MDC 25 years

Research We investigate the molecular basis of health and disease in four research areas: cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, cancer, diseases of the nervous system and medical systems biology.
Translation We want the general public to benefit from our research, so we place a special emphasis on technology transfer and translating our research to the clinics.
Training We train the next generation of scientists and provide all our employees with a stimulating environment and training opportunities.

Research Highlights

Cutting cancer’s lifeline

A new study in the journal Nature reveals that a small signaling molecule has the ability to cut off the blood supply to tumors. This allows the immune system’s T-cells to indirectly fight cancer.

The art of folding mitochondrial membranes

Oliver Daumke's lab figures out how the inner membranes of mitochondria "get their groove" and assume the complex shapes they need to carry out crucial cellular functions

Further research highlights

News

MDC researcher awarded prestigious grant to advance cardiovascular research

10 July, 2017

Prof. Holger Gerhardt of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) and an international team of collaborators receive a $6 million grant from the Fondation Leducq.

The last of their kind

23 June, 2017

To save the northern white rhino from extinction an international research team has chosen an unusual approach. They want to facilitate an in vitro fertilisation by transforming the animals’ skin cells into egg cells. Thomas Hildebrandt and Sebastian Diecke will present their project during the Long Night of the Sciences. When the bull, Sudan, his […]

Committed to Max Delbrück’s scientific legacy

08 June, 2017

The family of the man who gave his name to the MDC visited the Berlin research center and discovered the beginnings, history and prospects of molecular medicine in Berlin

Further news on MDC Insights