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Internationally renowned for pioneering achievements and geared to inter-institutional cooperation: 22 research groups at the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology in the Max Delbrück Center (MDC-BIMSB) explore how genes regulate life. It is now celebrating its 15th birthday.

Two science communications projects of the Max Delbrück Center have received funding from the Stiftung Charité. About 100,000 Euro will go to Gary Lewin and illustrator Kat Menschik for a book on unusual animals in research, and to Russ Hodge and Jennifer von Schlichting for a board game on gene expression.

22 young women and girls had the opportunity to experience the day-to-day life of an IT specialist at the Corporate IT or as a researcher at the Max Delbrück Center in Berlin-Buch and Mitte during the Girls’Day event. Boys’Day was also held at the same time.

The Image Data Analysis Platform has a new leader in Deborah Schmidt. She and her team create software that processes and analyzes image data from biomedicine, material sciences, or environmental research – something that benefits the entire Helmholtz Association.

As a visiting lab leader, biologist Susanne Wolf will spend five years at the Max Delbrück Center researching how microglia change in psychiatric diseases – and how these cells help the diseases develop and progress. In doing so, Wolf hopes to identify new targets for medicines.

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.

With its "Back to the roots" Lab, the Max Delbrück Center aims to enable young international researchers to become ambassadors for Research in Germany in their home countries. It is one of the winners of the DFG Community Prize.

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.

For almost three decades, Claus Scheidereit has been at the MDC researching a “gene switch” that plays a decisive role in certain cancers. As his time as a lab head comes to an end, he is on the verge of developing new drugs for cancer therapy.

For his outstanding doctoral thesis on sexual communication in fruit flies, the Max Planck Society awards an Otto Hahn Medal to neuroscientist Mohammed Khallaf Ali. At the MDC, he works in the Lewin lab and is dedicated to the sensation of touch and pain in animals.