Presseinformation: Success with Collaborative Research Centres

Nr. 185 - 24.11.2023

DFG approves funding for one new proposal and one renewal from Göttingen University and UMG 

The Göttingen Campus has received positive results about two Collaborative Research Centres (CRCs): the German Research Foundation (DFG) have agreed funding for a new CRC at the University of Göttingen in the field of chemistry. In addition, the DFG has extended funding for a CRC at the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG). Both periods of funding will last four years.

Newly funded CRC 1633 "Pushing Electrons with Protons – Unifying Multi-Electron Redox Catalysis by Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer"

This CRC is dedicated to the development of new methods and strategies for catalysis, drawing on the phenomenon of proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET). It will seek to clarify the fundamental mechanisms behind reactions with PCET and to understand the basic chemical processes that are crucial for the transition from fossil resources to using sustainable energy and raw materials. The key reactions of sustainable chemical synthesis and energy storage are, for example, the fixation of carbon dioxide and nitrogen, alongside water oxidation or the selective transformation of renewable raw materials into valuable basic chemicals.

The interdisciplinary consortium – which includes chemistry, physics, materials science and biology – plans to develop standardised models for PCET across these disciplines, from processes involving enzymes to reactions on surfaces. "Based on these models, we want to develop new catalysts that enable the efficient control of these chemical processes and the use of alternative forms of energy such as electricity and light," says CRC spokesperson Professor Sven Schneider, Institute of Inorganic Chemistry at the University of Göttingen. The Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences in Göttingen, the Universities of Mainz, Frankfurt, Bochum, Saarland and TU Darmstadt are also involved in the CRC. Funding will be around 10.9 million euros in total.

Extension: CRC Transregio 274 "Checkpoints of Central Nervous System Recovery" at the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG)

The aim of the CRC is to better understand the regulation of repair processes in the central nervous system (CNS). Certain kinds of damage caused by inflammation, trauma or circulatory system disorders are being investigated in order to identify checkpoints that can reliably predict the recovery of damaged nerve tissue. Injuries in the mammalian CNS often lead to lasting damage and loss of function and sometimes even to progressive neurological problems. However, despite the low tolerance of the CNS to injury, the response to acute CNS injury can be variable, ranging from irreversible damage to almost complete recovery. The reasons for these different outcomes are unknown.

"During the first period of funding, the focus was on analysing different models of damage and the cellular reactions, changes in the cells and molecular signals that determine the recovery of CNS tissue," says Professor Alexander Flügel, Head of the Institute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis Research at the UMG and Spokesperson for the CRC for the next funding period. Building on these findings, approaches will be explored to make it possible to determine principles of recovery processes that would apply broadly in animal disease models and in human disease. These findings should form the basis for developing new therapeutic strategies that specifically promote the regeneration potential within nerve cells and at the same time avoid the scarring the tissue, which would lead to irreversible functional deficits.

In addition to the UMG, the Technical University of Munich and the Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich are also involved in the CRC. The funding requested totals around 12 million euros. Further information about the CRC can be found here: www.sfb274.de/en.

Contact:

Professor Sven Schneider

University of Göttingen

Institute of Inorganic Chemistry

Tel: +49 (0)551 39-22829

Email: sven.schneider@chemie.uni-goettingen.de

www.uni-goettingen.de/en/356646.html

Professor Alexander Flügel

University Medical Centre Göttingen (UMG)

Institute of Neuroimmunology and Multiple Sclerosis Research

Tel: +49 (0)551 39-61158

Email: imsf@med.uni-goettingen.de

https://neuroimmunologie.umg.eu/en/about-the-institute/