About us
The immune system is essential for our health. Yet its dysregulation is involved in the pathogenesis of many common diseases. With the concept of an immune sensory system which integrates the sensing functions of immune and non-immune cells, the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation has made several seminal contributions, especially in the field of innate immunity. The list ranges from the identification of novel receptor ligands, a new second messenger, new paradigms of cell-to-cell communication, a new classification of macrophage activation, insights into immunopathogenesis of cancer, a new target to restore cognitive function, to the impact of Western diet on trained immunity. The excellent translational capacities of ImmunoSensation are reflected by six start-up companies, founded out of the cluster. Their fields of activity range from high-throughput diagnostics to precision medicine for the treatment of inflammatory diseases and cancer.
Based on these achievements of the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation, the Bonn Center of Immunology (BCI) was founded as an interfaculty center within the Transdisciplinary Research Area Life and Health of the University of Bonn. The BCI is the main platform for interactions with other local academic institutions, such as the DZNE.
The BCI is an excellence center for immunology at all levels: structure, education, research and translation. It is a joint structure of two faculties at the University of Bonn, including the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences, and the Medical Faculty, together with the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the German Center for Degenerative Diseases (DZNE, Helmholtz). The center is closely associated with the Bonn Transdisciplinary Research Area life and health, modelling and sustainable futures, the Bonn Center of Mathematical Life Sciences (BCMLS), the Hausdorff Center for Mathematics (HCM), the Bonn Center of Medical Data Usage and Translation (ZMDT) and the faculties of Law and Economics as well as the faculty of Agriculture at Bonn University.
All structural developments of the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation2 have been consolidated into the BCI.
Participating Institutions
The University of Bonn was founded in 1818 and is among the most important institutes of higher education in Germany and Europe. As a home of learning to over 36.000 students, it enjoys an outstanding reputation. The University of Bonn is a research-based university that operates on an international level and maintains partnerships with over 70 universities worldwide. Nationally and internationally renowned specializations and combinations give the University of Bonn its particular academic and research profile.
The University of Bonn works very closely with research partners from Max Planck institutes, the Research Centre Jülich (FZJ), German Aerospace Center (DLR) and Fraunhofer Society (FhG) institutes.
Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
The BCI brings together various research groups from the faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. In this, a central role is played by the Life & Medical Sciences Institute (LIMES), an internationally oriented center for biomedical research and higher education at the University of Bonn. The main scientific focus of the institute is to explore the regulation of lipid metabolism and the immune system in health and disease, and to decipher the signaling processes that take place both within and on biomembranes. The LIMES Institute is involved in several national and international research networks and offers talented young students and researchers an ideal environment for interdisciplinary training, innovative research and development to independence.
Medical Faculty University of Bonn
At the Medical Faculty the Institutes of Immunosciences and Infection (I3) represent the core institutes of the research focus area "Immunology and Infectious Diseases". Founding members are the Institutes of Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Pharmacology (G. Hartmann), Experimental Immunology (Ch. Kurts), Innate Immunity (formerly E. Latz, now D. Wachten and F. Meissner), Molecular Medicine (formerly V. Hornung, now H. Kato), Medical Microbiology, Immunology and Parasitology (A. Hörauf), Structural Biology (M. Geyer), Experimental Oncology (M. Hölzel) and Virology (formerly Ch. Drosten). The I3 provide a coordinated infrastructure to facilitate synergistic projects, promote young researchers and foster excellent training concepts. The core expertise includes immune sensing of nucleic acids, the inflammasome, immunobiology of cancer, metabolic and cardiovascular diseases, and infectious diseases. The I3 co-operate in a number of interdisciplinary research initiatives, like the DFG-funded Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation2 and the International Research Training Group BoMeRanG (iGRK 2168), as well as the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) und German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE).
University Hospital Bonn
The University Hospital of Bonn (UKB) is among the leading hospitals in Germany and internationally. The Medical Center in the former Capital of Germany is recognized worldwide for advanced medical care, and particularly for the treatment of complex disorders. It offers the whole spectrum of modern state-of-the-art medicine. Specialists from various fields in different departements cooperate closely to guarantee the best medical services for the patients.
The University Hospital Bonn has 32 clinics and 25 institutes and hosts about 8000 employees. More then 350.000 ambulant and 50.000 emergency patients are being treated annually.
DZNE
The German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) is a key member of the BCI and has identified neuroinflammation and neuroimmunology as research areas pivotal to the elucidation of the mechanistic principles of neurodegenerative diseases. Together with the current cluster ImmunoSensation2, the DZNE has undertaken major efforts to strengthen these research fields.
The DZNE is a member of the Helmholtz Association and the first of six German centers for health research (DZG) that were established by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to combat the most important widespread disease. The DZNE brings together excellent scientific expertise all over Germany and follows an interdisciplinary research approach. At ten sites including: Berlin, Bonn, Dresden, Göttingen, Magdeburg, Munich, Rostock / Greifswald, Tübingen, Ulm and Witten, the DZNE works closely with universities, university hospitals and other partners.
Achievements
1. We made the BCI a prime partner for national and international research consortia and a leading center for immunological research worldwide.
The interdisciplinary character of the Bonn Center of Immunology is at the core of the immunological research in Bonn. By bridging basic research and the clinics, the BCI fosters an optimal atmosphere for excellent immunological research. The scientific network established by the BCI enables a strong identification of its members with ImmunoSensation and the BCI. Besides the seminal contributions scientists at the BCI made in the filed of immunology over the last decade, this excellent and collaborative research environment is attractive for scientists worldwide and renders the BCI a prime cooperation partner, both for science and industry.
2. We established one of the leading educational environments in immunology at an international level.
We provide cutting-edge immunological expertise and state-of-the-art techniques to students, in order to generate the future leaders in immunological research in academia, medicine, industry and the public sector. Our efforts span from excellent undergraduate and graduate programs to courses tailored towards postdocs, young group leaders and tenure-track professors. The BCI's study and educational programs also attract students and young researchers from beyond the borders of immunology, enriching the scientific expertise at the BCI.
3. We established the Bonn School of Advanced Studies in Immunology to provide a unique education and communication platform and to intensifie the international exchange.
The Bonn School of Advanced Studies in Immunology offers a comprehensive support program for junior scientists and a variety of activities including advanced methods courses. To facilitate the BCI's international accessability, three-month stipends and structured immunology think tank discussion rounds are offered to junior scientists worldwide.
4. We share our knowledge and scientific discoveries with both, the scientific community and society.
We reach out to decision-makers in politics and industry. We raise public awareness of immune health and its connection to lifestyle and environment. We share or knowledge on all levels, from peer scientists to the public and from school children to the elderly. In order to do so, we developed and make use of various communication formats, online and on site.
5. We recruite excellent students and scientists from all over the world.
The structures established within the BCI provide a perfect plattform for the recruitment of excellent scientists from all over the globe. As an international center, the BCI promotes diversity and an inclusive attitude among staff and scientists. Newly recruited scientists are guided and supported in establishing their laboratories, but also their new life in Bonn and the Rhineland.
Graduate Program
The BCI complements the institutional strategy of the University of Bonn for early career support by focusing on specific measures to promote immunological researchers at all career stages.
For students, the number of places in the Bachelor’s program Molecular Biomedicine has been doubled, and two Master’s programs on immunology have been established: Immunobiology: from molecules to integrative systems and Medical Immunosciences and Infection.
For doctoral researchers, the University of Bonn has established Bonn International Graduate Schools (BIGS) in its designated areas of excellence in research. The BIGS Immunosciences and Infection, was established in 2016 on the basis of the "International Immunology Training Program Bonn (IITB) Graduate Program" developed by ImmunoSensation. The BIGS provides a unique framework for all PhD students in the fields of immunology and infectious disease in Bonn.
Postdoctoral researchers can receive further training through the Bonn School of Advanced Studies in Immunology. This program aims to provide intensive advanced training, geared towards the future high-level international careers of its participants. The Bonn School of Advanced Studies in Immunology features two types of training programs. One that offers structured training in immunological techniques and methods for postdocs who are already in Bonn and another for which international candidates will receive stipends for up to 6 months.
Diversity
The BCI continually strives to increase diversity by providing an inclusive and supportive research community for scientists of all ages, genders, ethnicities and sexual orientations. We explore a new instrument for crowdsource-enabled talent searches around the globe and will invite candidates to the interdisciplinary short-term activities within the Bonn School of Advanced Studies in Immunology, with the central aim of unbiased recruitment of postdoctoral researchers. Furthermore, we aim to become one of the leading academic institutions in fostering gender equality and the attractiveness of Bonn for young families by offering a coordinated set of measures to reduce organizational burdens and improve the quality time of family life.