BioTex - The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved research training group

 

A group of researchers around Prof. Rudolf Leube with participation of BioTex sucessfully applied for the Research Training Group "Mechanobiology of Epithelial 3D Tissue Constructs (MEƎT)".

The core of the research training goup are the two research disciplines of mechanobiology and tissue engineering. The goal is to steer processes in oder to prevent pathological changes in body tissues and to create functional tissue replacement materials. For this purpose, biomaterial-based 3D cell culture systems with mechanical properties are to be constructed that can be controlled in space and time. The key focus of research is on epithelial cell formations that are located at mechanophysical border regions and are therefore exposed to considerable mechanical forces.

To succeed in this endeavor, scientists from the disciplines of cell biology, biophysics, and bioengineering will have to work closely together. MEƎT will benfit from the interdisciplinary research culture found at RWTH Aachen and Forschungszentrum Jülich, as well as at Erlangen University and Cornell University, by bringing together engineers and life science scholars from eleven different disciplines to collaborate in this field of research.

DFG is supporting the education and training of 13 doctoral candidates with 4.4 million euros. The team's work will be supervised by nine RWTH professors, one professor from Forschungszentrum Jülich, and one professor from Erlangen University who has the support of ten experienced early career researchers. The research training group will be headed by Professor Rudolf Leube from RWTH (spokesperson) and Professor Rudolf Merkel from Forschungszentrum Jülich (vice spokesperson).

To read the whole text, please follow the link of the RWTH