Intro

The Centre of Medical Biotechnology (ZMB) provides the framework for research in the field of biomedical sciences at the UDE and interlinks basic scientific research on the UDE campus with application-oriented medical research at the University Hospital Essen (UK Essen). The knowledge gained through interdisciplinary research should help with the understanding of the causes of widespread diseases, improve their diagnosis and identify starting points for new therapies.

The ZMB currently comprises 77 research groups from the Faculties of Biology, Medicine and Chemistry at the Essen Campus and the UK Essen, as well as groups from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund. The inter­disciplinary research approach is supported by joint professorships that have been established between the participating faculties since 2011. They not only enable the ZMB to further develop research in a professional and interdisciplinary way, but also to promote training in the interdisciplinary Medical Biology course. The interdisciplinary research approach is also reflected in joint research and collaborative projects between the three participating faculties, which focus on three research areas: i) oncology, ii) immunology, infectious diseases and transplantation and iii) molecular and chemical cell biology. In addition to the externally-funded projects, the high number of scientific publications, which has remained constant over the last two years at almost 500 peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals with around 10 % published in top international journals (“impact factor” >10), reflects the high research productivity and quality.

The attractiveness of Essen as a research location is demonstrated by its success in the recruitment of highly qualified scientific personnel and talented students. In 2019, Doris Hellerschmied (Mechanistic Cell Biology), an outstanding young scientist, was recruited to the ZMB. She was one of six Sofja Kovalevskaja Award Winners in 2019 and is now using the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation’s award money to set up her own research group at the UDE.

The targeted further development of the ZMB as an interdisciplinary research institute is supported by the Scientific Advisory Board, set up in 2014. The members are the three Nobel Laureates Prof. Robert Huber (Munich), Prof. Erwin Neher (Göttingen) and Prof. Kurt Wüthrich (Zurich) as well as Prof. Frauke Melchior (Center for Molecular Research Heidelberg) and Prof. Thomas Sommer (Max Delbrück Center Berlin).