Department of Biology, Chemistry, Pharmacy

The spatiotemporally controlled assembly of protein scaffolds at membranes plays a crucial role in membrane traffic and remodeling, cell signaling, as well as in differentiation and development. The Collaborative Research Center aims at elucidating the molecular mechanisms by which dynamically organized protein-protein assemblies scaffold cellular membranes and exert cellular functions.

• Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Stephan Sigrist
• Launched: 2011
• Website: www.sfb958.de
• Participants: Freie Universität Berlin, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, German Institute of Human Nutrition, Leibniz Institute for Molecular Pharmacology, Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine

The scientific objectives of this Collaborative Research Center are to understand and control the complex interactions that can emanate from fluorinated structural units in chemical systems. For this purpose, the wide-ranging expertise of the different working groups involved in synthesis/biosynthesis, analytics/spectroscopy, and theory/modeling will be complementarily and synergistically linked to systematically expand our understanding of both the conceptual underpinning of fluorine-specific interactions and their many consequences across several areas of chemistry.

• Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Sebastian Hasenstab-Riedel
• Launched: January 2019
• Website: www.sfb1349.de
• Participants: Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, TU Berlin, Federal Institute for Materials Research and Testing, University of Bayreuth, University of Stuttgart

Hydrogels are three-dimensional networks consisting of water-swellable polymers that can hold a high proportion of water. Within this collaborative research center, scientists want to use the respiratory tract and the intestine to determine and investigate the most important physicochemical factors that characterize the protective functions of hydrogels at biological interfaces. The researchers are also hoping to define the prerequisites for the development of new therapeutic strategies in pulmonary and gastrointestinal diseases.

• Spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Rainer Haag
• Launched: January 2021
• Website: www.sfb1449.de
• Participants: Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, TU Berlin, Leibniz-Institute for Molecular Pharmacology (FMP), Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC), Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces (MPI-CI), Zuse Institute Berlin (ZIB)