Congratulations to the Principal and Co-Principal Investigators

Individual & Tandem Project Funding Program - 11th CMMC Funding Period (1/2026-12/2028)

The Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC) is delighted to welcome the Principal Investigators and Co-Principal Investigators whose proposals were positively reviewed and selected for funding in the upcoming CMMC Individual & Tandem Project Program (Jan. 2026 - Dec. 2028). Established alongside the CMMC in the early 1990s, this program remains a cornerstone of our funding strategy and scientific mission to advance molecular medicine and to enable translational research.

This year’s call was exceptionally competitive, with 65 Individual and 13 Tandem proposals submitted, underscoring the strength and dynamism of our life science research community. Following a rigorous review process, 28 Individual Projects and 5 Tandem Projects will be funded in the next funding period. We thank every applicant for the impressive scientific quality and commitment reflected in the submitted proposals. Given limited funds and the rule that a maximum of three projects per institution can be supported, many high-quality proposals could not be funded this round solely because of the very strong internal competition. We warmly encourage you to remain engaged with the CMMC, including through the opportunity of associated membership.

The Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) underscored the overall excellence of the submitted projects and described the rigorous two-stage internal and external review process as a key strength of the program. The SAB was particularly impressed by the program’s unique interdisciplinary character, which brings together both faculties - the Faculty of Medicine and the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences - in a highly compelling way.

An overview of the funded Individual & Tandem Projects is listed below:

Mechanisms of Tumor Development: Intrinsic and Extrinsic Control of Cell Proliferation and Tissue Invasion
 

A 01 - Fischer, Matthias 
Tracing Determinants of Malignant Transformation in Neuroblastic Tumors on the Single Cell Level
Dept. of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine

A 02 - Frezza, Christian (PI) | Schatton, Désirée (Co-PI) 
Dietary Interventions for Renal Cancer in Hereditary Leiomyomatosis and Renal Cell Carcinoma
Institute for Metabolomics in Ageing, Institute for Genetics

A 03 - Hillmer, Axel (PI) | Büttner, Reinhard (Co-PI) 
Developing New Treatment Concepts for KEAP1-mutated Lung Adenocarcinoma
Institute of Pathology

A 04 - Jachimowicz, Ron
Targeting UBQLN1-Driven Oncogenesis in Lung Adenocarcinoma
Dept. I of Internal Medicine

A 05 - Karstedt von, Silvia
Modelling KRAS Inhibitor Resistance Driven by Acquired KRAS Mutations in Pancreatic Cancer
Dept. of Translational Genomics

A 06 (TP) - Motori, Elisa1(PI) & Kreuzaler, Peter2 (PI)
Neuro-Metabolic Priming in Breast Cancer: Uncovering Innervation-induced Mechanisms of Brain Metastatic Competence
1Institute of Biochemistry & 2Institute for Metabolomics in Ageing

A 07 - Walczak, Henning
Evaluation of Novel Pro-apoptotic Combination Therapies to Overcome Therapy Resistance in Haematological Malignancies
Institute of Biochemistry I

Principles of Immunity, Inflammation and Infection
 

B 01 - Brinkkötter, Paul| Brähler, Sebastian (Co-PI)
PLXNB1 Signaling in Podocyte Disease – Linking Inflammation and Actin Cytoskeleton Remodeling
Dept. II of Internal Medicine

B 02 - Kashkar, Hamid 
Role of IAPs in Gastrointestinal Inflammatory Diseases and Therapeutic Interventions
Institute for Molecular Immunology

B 03 - Klein, Florian | Rohde, Malena (Co-PI)
HIV-1 Post-Treatment Control by Autologous Neutralizing Antibodies
Institute of Virology

B 04 - Liccardi, Gianmaria
The Role of Necroptosis in the Pathogenesis and Treatment of STING Associated Vasculopathy with Onset in Infancy (SAVI)
Institute for Biochemistry (MF)

B 05 (TP) - Mathur, Sanjay1 & Hallek, Michael2 | Ilyas, Shaista (Co-PI1) & vom Stein, Alexander (Co-PI2)
Stimuli-responsive Nanocarriers for Precision Drug Delivery and Tumor Microenvironment
1Institute of Inorganic and Materials Chemistry (MNF) and 2Dept. I for Internal Medicine

B 06 - Neumann-Haefelin, Christoph | Lang-Meli, Julia (Co-PI)
Impact of Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) on Immune Control of Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection
Dept. of Gastroenterology and Hepatology

B 07 - Pasparakis, Manolis 
Role of Cell Death in Regulating the cGAS-STING-Dependent Interferonopathy Caused by TREX1 Deficiency
Institute for Genetics (MNF)

B 08 - Rybniker, Jan | Theobald, Sebastian (Co-PI)
Comparative Analysis of Cross-Protective Trained Innate Immunity Induced by Different Vaccine Platforms
Dept. I for Internal Medicine

B 09 - Schlößer, Hans A. 
Elucidating IFN-γ-related Immune Escape as Mechanism of Resistance to Immunotherapy in Human Gastric Cancer and Orthotopic Mouse Models of Genomically Stable and Chromosomally Instable Gastric Adenocarcinoma
Dept. of General, Visceral, Thoracic and Transplantation Surgery

B 10 - Schommers, Philipp
Engineering Novel Multi-Specific HIV Antibodies to Overcome Viral Resistance
Dept. I of Internal Medicine

B 11 - Zehner, Matthias
Investigation of HCMV Resistance and Immune Escape Pathways – HCMV-RISE
Institute of Virology

Molecular Mechanisms and Metabolic Control of Tissue Degeneration and Regeneration

 

C 01 (TP) - Benzing, Thomas1 & Gather, Malte2
Biophysics of Podocyte Machanoregulation and Contractility
1Dept. II of Internal Medicine and 2Dept. of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Humboldt Center for Nano- and Biophotonics

C 02 - Bergami, Matteo
Mechanisms Underlying Epileptic Phenotypes by the Mitochondrial Transport Adaptor Protein TRAK1
CECAD

C 03 - Brachvogel, Bent 
Reductive Imbalances as Driver of Cartilage Degeneration in Aging and Mitochondrial Disease
Dept. of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine

C 04 - Cabreiro, Filipe1 | Strubl, Sebastian2  (Co-PI) | Solagna, Francesca3 (Co-PI)
Role of the Gut Microbiota in Polycystic Kidney Disease
1Institute for Genetics (MNF), 2Dept. II of Internal Medicine and 3CECAD

C 05 (TP) - Eming, Sabine1 & Reznick, Jane2 
Investigating Molecular Mechanisms Controlling Regenerative Plasticity and Scar-free Healing in Mammals
1Dept. of Dermatology and 2CECAD

C 06 - Gatto, Graziana
Unlocking the Prodromal Code: Early Signs of Sensory Dysfunctions in Diabetic Neuropathy
Dept. for Neurology

C 07 - Hammerschmidt, Matthias
Analysis of the Molecular Mechanisms Underlying Scar-free Healing of Cutaneous Wounds in the Zebrafish
Institute of Zoology (MNF)

C 08 - Isbrandt, Dirk | Tsortouktzidis, Despina (Co-PI)
Precision Therapies for HCN1-DEE
Institute for Molecular and Behavioral Neuroscience

C 09 - Korotkova, Tatiana 
Neuronal Mechanisms of Hunger Resistance: Functional Roles of Cholecystokinin (CCK)-expressing Lateral Hypothalamic Neurons in Obesity and Anorexia Nervosa
Institute for Systems Physiology

C 10 - Rugarli, Elena Irene
The Role of the Integrated Stress Response and of Paraplegin-specific Substrates in Neurodegeneration Caused by Mutations in SPG7
Institute for Genetics

C 11 - Schermer, Bernhard | Ebert, Lena (Co-PI)
Next-Generation Cilia Proximity Labeling to Decipher the Pathomechanisms of Human Ciliopathies
Dept. II of Internal Medicine

C 12 - Schwarz, Guenter1 | Köhler, Felix2(Co-PI)
S-Sulfocysteine to Treat Acute Kidney Injury: From Molecular Mechanism to Clinical Application
1Institute for Biochemistry - 2Dept. II of Internal Medicine

C 13 (TP) - Trifunovic, Aleksandra1 & Riemer, Jan2 
Turning Over Complex I: A Redox-Guided Route to Mitochondrial Resilience in Metabolic Disease
1Institute for Mitochondrial Diseases and Ageing and 2Institute for Biochemistry (MNF)

C 14 - Vilchez, David
Defining Cold-induced Pathways to Prevent Aging and Age-related Diseases
Institute for Integrated Stress Response Signaling

C 15 Vogt, Johannes | Kepser, Lara Jane (Co-PI), Endle, Heiko (Co-PI)
Lipid Signaling in the Regulation of Circuit Integration and Cell Death During Adult Neurogenesis
Institute of Anatomy II

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