MDC-BIMSB

Since 2008, the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (MDC-BIMSB) has expanded the research profile of the Max Delbrück Center. The researchers at MDC-BIMSB want to understand how genes regulate the lives of cells in health and disease. This requires the Institute’s research groups to break down the traditional boundaries between disciplines such as biotechnology, computational science, biochemistry, molecular biology, and clinical research.

Further informationen on MDC-BIMSB

Article

Janine Altmüller
Science

Janine Altmüller is new head of the Genomics Platform

Dr. Janine Altmüller’s goal is to raise the profile of genomics research in Berlin. Since July 1 she has headed the BIH and MDC’s joint Genomics Platform, providing support to Berlin researchers and honing new methods and technologies.
Spiny Mouse
Science

How did menstruation evolve?

Unlike most mammals or other rodents, the common spiny mouse has a menstrual cycle. Dr Christian Feregrino from the MDC is investigating how this trait has emerged. The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) is funding his work with a fellowship worth €140,000.
miniature chips
Press Release No. 37 Berlin

Four times as much information per cell

Scientists from the BIH at Charité and the MDC have teamed up with U.S. and Japanese researchers to take single-cell analysis to a new level. They combined methods for determining mRNA levels and DNA accessibility with those used for detecting proteins and mutations in mitochondrial DNA, they report in “Nature Biotechnology”.
Stefanie Großwendt
Science

Single-cell researcher Stefanie Grosswendt wins award

Dr. Stefanie Grosswendt develops new methods to analyse cell interaction in embryos and neuroblastoma, an early childhood cancer, at the level of the individual cell. The group leader has received the BSIO Female Independence Award for her research.
One-cell zebrafish embryo
Press Release No. 33 Berlin

Tracking RNA through space and time

A research team at the MDC has succeeded in tracking genes through space and time within a one-cell zebrafish embryo – even before cell division occurs. They have now described a method in the journal “Nature Communications” that may one day allow scientists to measure cell response to drugs, for example, in organoids.
MDC-BIMSB building
Press Release No. 32 Berlin

Single cells, RNA and the future of medicine

Two events, three days: researchers, industry, policymakers and the public are invited to attend the LifeTime Conference 2.0 on June 16 and 17 and the Berlin Summer Meeting 2021 on June 18 to discuss the latest technologies, tools and methods to tackle disease. Both virtual events are free.
miniature chips
Press Release No. 29 Berlin

A leap into the future with Virchow

Virchow 2.0 has been chosen as one of the 15 finalists in the second round of the BMBF’s Clusters4Future competition. The Berlin-based network, coordinated by the MDC, aims to build an AI-driven biomedical innovation ecosystem that will bring cell-based medicine to the clinic.
Abwasser aus Berlin im Labor
Science

📺 What Berlin wastewater reveals about the coronavirus

For many people, the day begins with a glance at the current incidence rate. Researchers at the MDC can now determine this a few days in advance. All they need are two vials of wastewater from Berlin’s sewage system.
Salz Mitochondrium
Press Release No. 27 Berlin

Too much salt suppresses phagocytes

Small changes of sodium in the blood reduce the amount of energy produced in the mitochondria – the power plants of our cells. This has consequences for immune cells. An international research team has discovered the mechanism behind this phenomenon and published their findings in the journal "Circulation".
Islet cells in the pancreas of a zebrafish
Science

Towards a better understanding of self-healing

Jan Philipp Junker studies how organs develop and how they regenerate after injury. To understand how this happens, he is investigating which genes in individual cells of an organ are active at any one time. Together with a fellow researcher in Dresden, he has been awarded a generous DFG Sequencing Grant for his research.