Studying and Understanding Inflammation
Inflammations of barrier organs (skin, lungs, intestines) are a key medical problem of many diseases of civilization, such as psoriasis, asthma or chronic inflammatory bowel disease. In addition to this direct relation to diseases, it is increasingly obvious that inflammatory reactions are involved in a variety of other diseases (e.g. coronary heart disease or carcinoma). To enhance the interdisciplinary research of inflammatory processes, the cluster combines the expertise of scientists and medical doctors from five institutions: Kiel University and the University of Lübeck, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein as well as the Research Center Borstel and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology, Plön.
In the Excellence Cluster "Inflammation at Interfaces", more than 200 excellent scientists have merged their research activities into eight research areas, creating a close, interdisciplinary collaboration to advance the research of inflammatory processes and the development of therapies.
These include five research areas defined by content and methods (A through E), which form the foundation of the Cluster. In these is where the genetics (A), molecular structures (B), and physiological mechanisms (C) of inflammatory processes are studied. In Research Area D, model systems (e.g. mice) are used for the simulation of inflammatory processes and the development of innovative therapies. In Research Area E, medical researchers and physicians concentrate on validating research results in patients and to translate them into treatments and therapies.
On the basis of the findings generated through Research Areas A – E and the available technology, Research Areas F, G and H work on issues of central importance. This type of interdisciplinary research enables a synergistic generation of knowledge about molecular families of central importance for inflammatory processes in barrier organs and their treatment.
Additionally, in Research Area I, Junior Research Groups were established in which talented young scientists work on the new developments and findings in the context of the Research Areas A through E, contributing key new insights and innovations from the close cooperation and the available technologies and resources in the Cluster.
- Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft