
BIMSB News
February 2021
Analyzing single cells in space
Spatially resolved transcriptomics are changing the way we understand complex tissues, as Nature Methods wrote when it crowned the technology “Method of the Year 2020.” A SCOG virtual workshop has now provided an overview of the latest findings and developments in this exciting field.
Award for single-cell researcher Leif Ludwig
Leif S. Ludwig has received the Hector Research Career Development Award for his research into the DNA of cellular power plants, the mitochondria. The award supports particularly talented young scientists as they embark on the first steps of their research careers.
Four new groups use single-cell methods to advance medicine
A year ago, BIH, MDC and Charité launched the joint research focus "Single Cell Approaches for Personalised Medicine". Its aim is to use innovative single cell technologies to answer clinical questions. This aspiration will be put into practice by four new junior research groups, which have now started.
Januar 2021
What are you reading, Dr. Junker?
In the lab, Jan Philipp Junker is working on cell lineages. He is trying to understand how zebrafish repair their own hearts. In his spare time, he likes to read a lot. For our series "What are you reading right now?", the systems biologist takes us to the East Coast of the USA, to Boston. Not to the MIT, but to a milieu of tennis players and drug addicts.
Integration of BIH into Charité and the privileged partnership with the MDC
On January 1, 2021, the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) has become the translational research unit of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and will then form – alongside the hospital and the medical faculty – Charité’s third pillar.
“Danger to the Brain” – a Urania lecture on Alzheimer’s
Neuroscience is one of Berlin’s strongest fields of research. The Berlin Brains lecture series at Urania shows the breadth and depth of this research expertise in the capital city – this year under the theme “Junior Meets Senior.” The MDC’s Thomas Willnow and Anna Löwa are kicking off the series.
How the vaccines fight the coronavirus
What side effects should I expect from the vaccines against the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus? Have they been developed too fast? To support a factual debate, our experts from the fields of immunology and RNA biology answered frequently asked questions.
Dezember 2020
Dancing spaghetti on the brain
In December 2020, biophysicist Melissa Birol joined the MDC as a new junior group leader to investigate the behavior and function of disordered proteins in brain cells.
New textbook for computational genomics
A new textbook “Computational Genomics with R” written by MDC/BIMSB's Altuna Akalin will be published this month. The book aims to assist to a wide range of readers, providing both an introduction to genomics and step-by-step instructions to help biologists analyze their own datasets.
Tissue regeneration at the single-cell level
The 13th Berlin Summer Meeting “Rising from the Ashes – Regeneration at the Single Cell Level” will take place as a Christmas Special on Dec. 10-11, 2020. The free, virtual conference will feature talks about regeneration research in animals and organoids.
November 2020
A tricky kidney puzzle
By analyzing the gene expression of single cells, algorithms are able to not only reconstruct their original location in the tissue, but also to determine details about their function. Teams led by Kai Schmidt-Ott and Nikolaus Rajewsky have published their findings in JASN, using the kidney as an example.
Artificial intelligence for the medicine of tomorrow
On November 7, 2020, the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) and the Tagesspiegel are hosting the fifth edition of the Future Medicine Science Match. This year’s focus is “Artificial Intelligence in Translational Medicine.” MDC researcher Roland Schwarz is chair of the session on AI in basic research.
Exploring liquid droplets that enhance gene expression
The Berlin Institute of Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB) will host an international, virtual workshop about condensates and phase transitions on Nov. 27, 2020.
October 2020
MDC research funded by NIH award
A large grant under the NIH’s 4D Nucleome Program supports BIMSB/MDC scientist Ana Pombo’s work as a member of a multi-team consortium led by UC San Diego in the U.S. The team will investigate how DNA organizes inside cell nuclei and functions in space and time.
Moles: Intersexual and genetically doped
Female moles not only have ovarian, but also testicular tissue that produces male sex hormones – which lets them diverge from the categorization into two sexes. A team led by Berlin researchers Stefan Mundlos and Darío Lupiáñez describes in Science which genetic modifications contribute to this singular development.
September 2020
Organoids, open science and reality TV from the lab – the MDC at the Berlin Science Week
When virologists become reality TV stars, biologists dream of life without illness, researchers debate organoids vs. animal testing with the general public, and biomedical scientists discuss the possibilities of AI, it can only be Berlin Science Week.
National Center for Tumor Diseases in Berlin
Berlin will become one of four new National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) locations in addition to Heidelberg and Dresden.
Invitation: Breaking Boundaries – Virchow 2.0
Berlin has a long tradition as a medical metropolis and also the potential to become an international hub for the life sciences, comparable to Boston. On September 28, researchers from both cities will discuss this issue with the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Michael Müller
Towards a cell-based interceptive medicine in Europe
The LifeTime initiative has published a perspective in Nature and the LifeTime Strategic Research Agenda, presenting a roadmap of how to leverage the latest scientific breakthroughs and technologies over the next decade.
August 2020
Cancer’s ongoing evolution
A new algorithmic approach - developed by a team of researchers led by the BIMSB/MDC (Roland Schwarz lab), The Francis Crick Institute and the University College London - reveals individual tumors continue to evolve and remodel their genomes, and this occurs across a broad range of tumor types. Identifying changes that benefit tumors and help them metastasize could help with future treatments. Results are published in Nature.
Organoids and sequencing team up for ALS research
DC researchers Mina Gouti and Nikolaus Rajewsky received a $150,000 pilot project grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative’s Neurodegeneration Challenge Network to investigate a defining feature of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
COVID-19: Immune system derails
A severe course of COVID-19 does not solely result in a strong immune reaction – rather, the immune response is caught in a continuous loop of activation and inhibition. This is reported in Cell by experts of the nationwide deCOI research network, including members of BIMSB's Landthaler lab.
Kerstin Radomski visits the MDC/BIMSB
Kerstin Radomski, a Bundestag member for the CDU and an expert on budgetary issues, visited the MDC/BIMSB in early August. She wanted to learn about research into diseases such as cardiovascular disorders, cancer and Covid-19, as well as about the opportunities that data science offers and the clinical application of scientific discoveries.
July 2020
Janggu makes deep learning a breeze
The group of Altuna Akalin has developed a new tool that makes it easier to maximize the power of deep learning for studying genomics. They describe the new approach, Janggu, in the journal Nature Communications
New group leader bridges math and biology
Dr. Laleh Haghverdi joins the BIMSB/MDC on July 1st to lead a new group: Computational Methodologies and Omic Analytics. She brings her expertise in finding mathematical approaches to improve single-cell, multi-omics data integration and analysis.
June 2020
Jan Philipp Junker receives Helmholtz AI grant
DC researcher Jan Philipp Junker and his collaborator Maria Colomé-Tatché at Helmholtz Center Munich have received a €200,000 grant to improve big data processing to better understand how gene networks are wired together during development and disease.
The modeler of life
Dr. Jana Wolf heads the Mathematical Modeling of Cellular Processes Lab at the MDC. On June 15 she will begin a professorship at FU Berlin . She looks forward to exchanging expertise and ideas with her new colleagues – and to leveraging this knowledge to develop new medical models.
May 2020
Joint press release by the members of the German COVID-19 OMICS Initiative (DeCOI)
Genome researchers have come together to launch the German COVID-19 OMICS Initiative (DeCOI). DeCOI combines the expertise of more than 22 institutions from across Germany to make a scientific contribution to fighting the COVID-19 pandemic
MDC scientists answer COVID-19 questions
The coronavirus challenges people around the world every day. Here at the MDC, we are giving our best to help fight the pandemic. Some of our scientists took the time to think about a few of the questions surrounding SARS-CoV-2.
Project brings voluntary help into the lab
LabHive is one of 1,500 projects born out of the federal government’s #WirVsVirus hackathon. Team leader Dr. Tobias Opialla of the BIMSB/MDC presents the new online platform, which is intended to bundle laboratory capacity and enable more SARS-CoV-2 tests.
April 2020
Support for SARS-CoV-2 diagnostics
The LabHive digital platform aims to provide necessary resources to diagnostic centres to enable more tests for SARS-CoV-2. Tobias Opialla from the Kempa lab is one of 15 volunteers who has been involved in the project since the #WirvsVirus Hackathon organized by the German government.
Diagnostics, meet CRISPR
A new diagnostic test to quickly and easily monitor kidney transplant patients for infection and rejection relies on a simple urine sample and a powerful partner: the gene-editing technology CRISPR. Michael Kaminski, who developed it, leads a new Emmy Noether Group at the BIMSB/MDC & Charité.
March 2020
Coronavirus research at the MDC
In light of the pandemic, the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) is pooling together its resources for projects that advance the understanding of SARS-CoV-2, while scaling down its regular research operations to a minimum.
State-by-state breakdown of COVID-19
The group of Matthias Selbach has developed a new online tool that displays the development of the COVID-19 epidemic in Germany clearly and by individual state as well as worldwide.
February 2020
On the trail of cancer stem cells
What goes on inside and between individual cells during the very earliest stages of tumor development? Single cell sequencing technologies and a mouse model have enabled researchers in the labs of Nikolaus Rajewsky and Walter Birchmeier to comprehensively map the cellular diversity of whole salivary gland tumors and trace the path of cancer stem cells.
Mass spectrometry for precision medicine
Research groups from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) are joining forces with other Berlin-based partners. Pooling their experience and outstanding expertise in the field of mass spectrometry, they will form a new ‘Forschungskern’ or ‘research core’.
A close-up look at mutated DNA in cancer cells
PCAWG, the largest cancer research consortium in the world, has set itself the task of improving our understanding of genetic mutations in tumors. A new study by the international research group, to which the group of Roland Schwarz substantially contributed, is now being published in the journal Nature.
BIH, MDC und Charité launch a new research focus
Single cell technologies for Personalized Medicine – The Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB) of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin are launching a joint research initiative.
- BIMSB group leader recruitments continue
On February 24th, 13 competitively selected candidates are presenting their work and their vision for the prospective research groups on ‘Advanced Imaging Applications for Systems Biology’ and ‘Computational or Theoretical Approaches for Deciphering Human Disease Data’.
Recruitment Symposium “Single Cell goes Clinical”
Scientific Kick-off of the New Clinical Focus Area "Single Cell Technologies for Personalized Medicine”
Feb 6, 2020, 9 am – 6:40 pm in the large BIMSB conference room
The new focus area "Single Cell Technologies for Personalized Medicine", jointly established by BIH, MDC/BIMSB and Charité, aims at building bridges between basic and clinical research to take single cell technologies into the clinic. For this purpose, we are recruiting three junior group leaders striving to bring single cell expertise into clinical application.
The future research groups will be located on the top floor of the BIMSB building, and will investigate human diseases at the single cell level in order to develop new methods for improved prevention, diagnosis and therapy. Each group will closely collaborate with a clinical department at the Charité, developing single cell approaches that address specific medical needs and establishing technologies for clinical use.
The recruitment symposium also constitutes the scientific kick-off of the new clinical focus area. Researchers, clinicians and interested parties from BIH, MDC/BIMSB, Charité and elsewhere are warmly invited to come together to exchange information, network and plan joint projects.
December 2019
What blocks bird flu in human cells?
Normally, bird flu viruses do not spread easily from person to person. But if this does happen, it could trigger a pandemic. Researchers from the MDC (Selbach lab) and RKI have now explained in the journal Nature Communications what makes the leap from animals to humans less likely.
Deep learning identifies molecular patterns of cancer
An artificial intelligence platform developed by the group of Altuna Akalin in collaboration with Bayer AG can analyze genomic data extremely quickly, picking out key patterns to classify different types of colorectal tumors and improve the drug discovery process. The deeper analysis shows some colorectal subtypes need to be reclassified.
November 2019
3D maps of gene activity
A three-dimensional computer model enables scientists to quickly determine which genes are active in which cells, and their precise location within an organ. A team led by Nikolaus Rajewsky, Berlin, and Nir Friedman, Jerusalem, has published the new method and their insights gained from this in Nature.
Jan Philipp Junker named EMBO Young Investigator
Some 27 young researchers have been selected for the prestigious EMBO Young Investigators Programme. Among this year’s awardees is Philipp Junker, a systems biologist at the MDC’s Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology.
September 2019
Berlin Summer Meeting 2019
Breaking Boundaries: Festive Opening with Pamela Biermann, Wolf Biermann and Jens Reich
August 2019
A genetic chaperone for healthy aging?
Researchers at the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) have identified an epigenetic mechanism that appears to strongly influence healthy aging. It’s a protein that controls muscle integrity, lifespan and levels of an essential sugar. How does one protein have that much power?
Google Maps for tissues
Modern light microscopic techniques provide extremely detailed insights into organs, but the terabytes of data they produce are usually nearly impossible to process. New software, developed by a team led by MDC scientist Dr. Stephan Preibisch and now presented in Nature Methods, is helping researchers make sense of these reams of data.
June 2019
May 2019
April 2019
Joint School students gain expertise in epigenetics in single cells
March 2019
LifeTime is delighted to receive EU funding
LifeTime is one of the six winners of an EU-wide competition in which ambitious and forward-looking research projects are selected and funded. This was officially announced by the European Commission on Tuesday. The coordinators of LifeTime in Berlin and Paris were pleased that they can now begin the actual work. Chancellor Merkel praised the initiative.
Full article: Research in Germany. Land of Ideas, 15th Jan 2019
Full article: Science Magazine, 15th Jan 2019
Full article: Phys.org, 15th Jan 2019
Full article: News-Medical Science, 15th Jan 2019
February 2019
BIMSB Research Building officially inaugurated by Chancellor Angela Merkel
BIMSB scientists & staff felt honoured that Chancellor Angela Merkel personally inaugurated the new BIMSB Research Building in the centre of Berlin on February 26, 2019.
The Chancellor started her visit with a tour of the building, learning about cutting-edge technologies currently applied at BIMSB. PhD students Zoe Mendelsohn, Jonathan Alles and Jonathan Ronen presented patient-derived brain organoids, single cell sequencing and machine learning – key technologies for paving the way towards personalized medicine. Angela Merkel’s BIMSB tour concluded with a brief meeting with the BIMSB group leaders and an entry in the MDC guest book.
During her address at the subsequent opening ceremony with about 150 invited guest from science, politics and society, Angela Merkel suggested to "Be proud of your beautiful gem - a place of the future!" She also praised the LifeTime initiative for its highly collaborative nature and its beneficial use of machine learning.
The ceremony featured Welcome Adresses by Nikolaus Rajewsky and Martin Lohse. In addition, BIMSB group leaders Jan Philipp Junker, Stephan Preibisch and Ana Pombo as well as her PhD student Rieke Kempfer showcased their research in dialogue with science journalist Monika Seynsche.
All guests had the opportunity to tour the new building at the reception that followed the inauguration.
Full article: "Wir leben in spannenden Zeiten"
Full article: Angela Merkel eröffnet neues Forschungszentrum in Berlin-Mitte
Full Article: Merkel eröffnet in Berlin neues Forschungslabor
Full Article: Eröffnung des neuen Max-Delbrück-Zentrums
Full Article: Neuer Standort vom Max-Delbrück-Centrum: "Grenzen aufbrechen"
Full Article: Forschen für ein gesundes Leben
© David Ausserhofer, MDC
February 2019
Full Article: Der Spiegel
Full Article: Science
© With kind permission from lilbub.com/Mike Bridavsky.
January 2019