Max Planck - Dioscuri Centres of Excellence

Dioscuri-Programm


Dioscuri Centres of Scientific Excellence

A program initiated by the Max Planck Society to support scientific excellence in Central and Eastern Europe

Dioscuri aims to establish internationally competitive research groups at Central and Eastern European scientific institutions with the support of partners from Germany. The person-centered program was initiated by the Max Planck Society and is funded by the German Federal government as well as the government of the respective host country.

Dioscuri was initiated by the Max Planck Society to support the development of centres of scientific excellence in Central and Eastern Europe. The program seeks to support outstanding scientists who would like to establish and lead a highly visible research group in this region. Dioscuri Centres are established at research institutions that are capable of providing adequate infrastructure and that offer an environment for cutting-edge research. Centres are supported by experienced partners from Germany. Each Centre is funded with up to € 300,000 per annum for an initial five years and can be extended for a further five years after successful evaluation by external experts. Funding is provided equally by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the government of the respective country.

The Dioscuri Programme aims to strengthen international standards of scientific excellence in the region and to support the on-going transformation processes in the EU-13 countries. By helping to overcome the existing performance gap between Western and Eastern European science, MPG contributes to the overall strengthening of the European Research Area.


Overview of Dioscuri Centres

Dioscuri Centres are innovative and internationally visible research groups led by outstanding scientists. Supported by partners from Germany, Dioscuri Centres are established at research institutions that offer an environment for cutting-edge research. Centres are funded for an initial five years with € 300,000 per annum and can be extended for a further five years after successful evaluation by external experts.


    Dioscuri Centre for Chromatin Biology and Epigenomics (since 01.10.2019)

    At the Dioscuri Centre for Chromatin Biology and Epigenomics, Aleksandra Pękowska and her team combine high throughput genomic approaches, computational tools, genome engineering and stem cell models to provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms that underlie the evolution of the human brain. Likewise, they use these cutting-edge tools to establish the nature of the connection between the spatial arrangement of the genome in the cell and the control of the activity of genes in the developing mammalian nervous system. Through experimental and computational approaches, researchers at the Dioscuri Centre hope to provide new insights into how the human genome evolved to sustain the higher-order brain functions and which fundamental mechanisms allow the genome to orchestrate development.

    Dioscuri Centre for Metabolic Diseases (since 01.01.2020)

    At the Dioscuri Centre for Metabolic Diseases, Grzegorz Sumara focuses on the elucidation of signaling pathways that play a role in metabolic diseases such as type 2 diabetes (T2D) or atherosclerosis and sarcopenia that affect healthy aging. For this purpose, Grzegorz and his team combine cell biology, biochemical, high-throughput screening and omics approaches with mouse genetics. Since perturbations in signaling cascades regulating basic metabolic processes of adipose tissue, liver and intestine (e.g. nutrients absorption) or energy utilization in muscles often result in metabolic imbalance, by determining essential signaling networks we aim to contribute to more targeted pharmacological strategies for treatment of metabolic diseases such as obesity, T2D, atherosclerosis or sarcopenia (muscle wasting).

    Dioscuri Centre in Topological Data Analysis (since 01.07.2020)

    As humans, we are trained to recognize various objects and phenomena by understanding their shape. We are successful in this task even if the objects of interest are subjected to large amount of noise of considerably deformed. While the concept of shape is deeply rooted in our perception, its mathematical foundations are far from satisfactory. At the Dioscuri Centre for Topological Data Analysis, Paweł and his team are seeking mathematically sound methods to understand and quantify the shape of data. That includes objects we may encounter in our everyday life, like new materials, medical images and more. Critically, the solutions they provide scale in time and dimension enriching the understanding dynamic and high dimensional phenomena. The mathematicians at the Dioscuri Centre work on the efficient implementation of the tools of topology and geometry, including many they develop themselves, to provide cutting edge solutions to multiple disciplines, including biology, medical and climate research, economics, finance, material science and many and more.

    Dioscuri Centre for the Physics and Chemistry of Bacteria (since 01.10.2020)

    The Dioscuri Centre for the Physics and Chemistry of Bacteria studies bacterial growth and evolution to better understand bacterial infections, in particular urinary infections. Bartłomiej and his team are interested in how bacteria attach and grow on surfaces such as medical catheters and implants, how bacteria evolve resistance to antibiotics, and how they invade and grow inside animal cells. Researchers at the Dioscuri Centre also study the evolution of cancer cells and their response to chemotherapy. In their work, they use a range of biological, physical, and chemical experimental methods as well as machine learning and computer simulations. Furthermore, they develop new optical-based methods to measure bacterial growth. The team hopes that their work at the Centre will help to develop novel approaches to antimicrobial and anti-cancer therapy.

    Dioscuri Centre for RNA-Protein Interactions in Human Health and Diseases (since 01.01.2021)

    At the Dioscuri Centre for RNA-Protein Interactions in Human Health and Disease, Gracjan Michlewski will investigate the cellular roles and structural characteristics of novel RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) and RNA-protein interactions. The major focus of his and his team’s investigations will be on the RNA-protein interactions in innate immune response to RNA viruses including influenza, commonly known as the flu. “RNA viruses have already caused several epidemics in the 21st century; the emergence of a new influenza pandemic or a viral bioterrorism attack could have catastrophic consequences on public health and the world economy. Thus, a detailed molecular understanding of host-virus interactions is imperative in order to know how best to inactivate the virus and prevent major disruptions”, says Michlewski, who is also a Honorary Lecturer in Infection Medicine at the University of Edinburgh, United Kingdom. His partner from Germany is Juri Rappsilber from the Institute of Biotechnology at the Technische Universität Berlin. 

    RNA-binding proteins (RBPs) are key molecules that control gene expression signaling through RNA-protein interactions. Consequently, they contribute to cellular homeostasis, normal development and majority of human diseases. Importantly, new RBPs are being discovered by high-throughput proteomics, but we still have a limited understanding of their function. In the framework of this grant we are planning to investigate the cellular roles and structural characteristics of novel RBPs and RNA-protein interactions as well as their functional implications in innate immune response to influenza A virus (IAV) infection.

    RNA viruses have caused several epidemics in the 21st century. Taking IAV infection as an exemplar, it kills 250,000 to 500,000 people annually and generates a significant global socioeconomic burden ($20 billion dollars in every year in the US alone). Importantly the emergence of a new influenza pandemic or a viral bioterrorism attack could have catastrophic consequences on public health and world economy. Thus, a detailed molecular understanding of host-virus interactions is imperative in order to know how best to inactivate the virus and prevent major disruptions. Finally, viruses have been used to uncover some of the most important cellular processes such as mRNA splicing, capping, polyadenylation or RNA interference and they continue providing insights into molecular phenomena that can aid in understanding basic biology of living organisms.

    Dioscuri Centre for Structural Dynamics of Receptors (since 01.07.2022)

    While many receptors are extensively studied due to their omnipresent and critical function ranging from light energy harvesting to unleashing the healing potential of medicines, the Dioscuri Centre will involve a recently developed methodology at X-ray Free Electron Lasers that allows unprecedented insights into structural dynamics and molecular mechanisms of proteins. Time-resolved crystallography will provide a series of structural snapshots at a high spatiotemporal resolution that can be assembled into a molecular movie of the protein in action.



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