News

13/11/2025 | The University of Cologne is once again represented in the international ranking of ‘Highly Cited Researchers’, which is published annually by Clarivate Analytics based on information from the ‘Web of Science’ publication database.

11/11/2025 | First biomarkers for rapid diagnosis and targeted therapy / Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the world's leading infectious diseases. Infection with the bacterium "Mycobacterium tuberculosis" primarily affects the lungs, but in up to 25 percent of all infected individuals, it also affects other parts of the body, such as the lymph nodes, bones, or brain.

06/11/2025 | In a joint project, the two University of Cologne scientists are investigating mutations of viral pathogens in connection with the immune response. The European Research Council awards ERC Synergy Grants to interdisciplinary groups of two to four excellent researchers.

05/11/2025 | Over half a million euros in funding from the German Research Foundation (DFG) goes to Prof. Dr. Miguel Alejandre Alcazar (Translational Experimental Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, associated to the CMMC, University Hospital Cologne Institute for Lung Health, Justus Liebig University Giessen) and Dr. Julian Wagner (Institute of Cardiovascular Regeneration, Goethe University Frankfurt)

04/11/2025 | Antibodies against virulence factors of "Pseudomonas aeruginosa" could become an alternative to antibiotics in the future. A team from Cologne University Hospital has been awarded the 2025 "Galenus von Pergamon Prize" for basic research for its work in this field.

03/11/2025 | Researchers from the University of Cologne discovered how a specific dietary amino acid increases cellular energy, opening new possibilities for treating metabolic diseases

31/10/2025 | A research team from the UKK and the CMMC has developed and systematically compared macrophage co-culture systems in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). The study provides the first comprehensive analysis of these models and proposes a new experimental standard for reproducible investigations into leukemia-microenvironment interactions.

21/10/2025 | A research team at the University of Cologne and University Hospital Cologne identifies a circuit in the brain that counteracts anxiety and helps to restore balanced behaviour. The result could contribute to developing treatment options for anorexia nervosa, one of the deadliest mental illnesses.

17/10/2025 | This year's Prize for European HIV Research (ANRS MIE Award for the Best Basic/Translational Paper on HIV) goes to Prof. Dr. Dr. Philipp Schommers, Clinic I for Internal Medicine at Cologne University Hospital and associated to the Center of Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC).

14/10/2025 | A new study shows that disease-causing changes in the MFN2 gene in Charcot-Marie-Tooth syndrome trigger programmed cell death – a potential key to understanding the incurable nerve disease / publication in “Journal of Cell Science”

09/10/2025 | Additional €1.55 million from the Else Kröner-Fresenius-Stiftung - Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest medical challenges of our time. Infections with multi-resistant pathogens are increasingly leading to severe disease progression, long hospital stays, and rising mortality rates.

07/10/2025 | A new study by the Laboratory for Experimental Immunology of the Eye at Cologne University Hospital and the Faculty of Medicine reveals new, promising methods for preventing eye damage in diabetic retinopathy (DR) by targeting the immune response within the retina.

07/10/2025 | A Cologne-led research team has discovered the antibody 04_A06, which neutralizes the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in almost all tested variants in vitro and even overcomes typical resistance mechanisms. The discovery potentially opens up new perspectives for the prevention and treatment of HIV infections.

06/10/2025 | University Professor Florian Klein, Director of the Institute of Virology at Cologne University Hospital, Executive Board Member at the Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC) and a leading international expert in human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), has been awarded the 2025 Hamburg Science Prize for his work on immunomodulation.

02/10/2025 | In response to cellular stress, the protein CxUb is activated to identify damaged proteins, thereby maintaining cellular health. The discovery could lead to ways to improve the treatment of cancer and neurodegenerative diseases

22/09/2025 | Scientists in Cologne offer a molecular perspective on the architecture of a synapse. They have discovered that a protein in the brain forms flexible filaments, thereby acting as an essential building block of inhibitory synapses.

18/09/2025 | A molecular protective mechanism keeps fat cells healthy, protects against metabolic diseases and plays an important role during the ageing process / These findings could contribute to better early detection and treatment in the future / Publication in ‘Science Advances’

15/09/2025 | An international team of scientists have discovered that microbes associated with tumours produce a molecule, which can control cancer progression and boost the effectiveness of chemotherapy / publication in "Cell Systems".

11/09/2025 | A research team at the University of Cologne and the Max Delbrück Center in Berlin has deciphered in detail the rules behind an important mechanism of cellular quality control in humans / Publication in ‘Molecular Cell’

11/09/2025 | Researchers reveal that lung cancer cells form direct synapses with neurons to grow and proliferate, opening the door to new therapies that cut the communication lines / publication in ”Nature”

09/09/2025 | On September 8, the University Election Assembly — consisting of an equal number of members of the Senate and members of the University of Cologne’s University Council — elected Professor Dr Carien Niessen as Vice-Rector for Research.

05/09/2025 | At the Heart Center of Cologne University Hospital, the team of doctors led by Prof. Stephan Baldus, Director of Department III for Internal Medicine, Matti Adam, and Dennis Mehrkens has successfully implanted a Sapien M3 mitral valve prosthesis for the first time in North Rhine-Westphalia.

03/09/2025 | A University of Cologne research team has identified a direct molecular link between aging and neurodegeneration by investigating how age-related changes in cell signalling contribute to toxic protein aggregation

21/08/2025 | A preclinical study at the University of Cologne could open up new treatment options for STING-associated vasculopathy with onset in infancy (SAVI) and benefit a wide spectrum of other currently therapy-resistant genetic diseases

18/08/2025 | The Skin Cancer Prevention Project DIE SONNE UND WIR is running the "UV-Schutz im Freibad – Mach den Sonnencheck" campaign to raise awareness of UV protection, in collaboration with KölnBäder.

06/08/2025 | Dr. Sebastian Theobald and Louise M. Cremer take on key board roles at the Young Immunologists of the German Society for Immunology (DGfI).

04/08/2025 | Together with the CMMC´s outreach project “DIE SONNE UND WIR” the Cologne University Hospital is participating in the campaign “UV-Schutz im Freibad - Mach den Sonnencheck” to raise awareness about sun protection and skin cancer prevention.

04/08/2025 | A University of Cologne research team has discovered that cells in high-energy-demanding tissues respond to mitochondrial dysfunction in a surprising way.

01/08/2025 | Prof. Dr. Brunhilde Wirth, director of the Institute of Human Genetics at Cologne University Hospital and Executive Board Member at the Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), appeared as an expert guest on the WDR5 podcast series “Neugier genügt” to discuss human genetics and rare diseases.

31/07/2025 | We congratulate Kasia Bozek, member at the CMMC, on the wonderful portrait about her and her work in the magazine “make ideas work” (Publisher: Gateway Exzellenz Start-up-Center, University of Cologne, Author: Manuel Heckel, Photos: Natalie Bothur).

28/07/2025 | A research team at the University of Cologne has developed a method called DynaTag, which can detect the binding of proteins to DNA, even in an individual cell. Interactions of proteins with DNA are crucial for gene expression, which has a major impact on diseases such as cancer / publication in ‘Nature Communications’

21/07/2025 | A University of Cologne research team has developed a novel approach to predict how fast kidney disease is likely to progress, using just blood samples. They discovered 29 proteins that are linked to how quickly kidney function declines each year / Publication in Nature Communications

04/07/2025 | Together with Professor Dr. Andreas Speer and Professor Dr. Christiane Josephine Bruns, three Cologne professors will be members of the Senate of the German Research Foundation from January 1, 2026 / Thomas Benzing is responsible for Clinical Medicine I.

01/07/2025 | The European Molecular Biology Organisation (EMBO) has elected Anne Schaefer, Director at the Max Planck Institute for the Biology of Ageing and researcher at the Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), as a new member.

27/06/2025 | A University of Cologne research team has identified the protein AIFM1 as a central coordinator of cellular energy production.

24/06/2025 | We are deeply saddened to announce the passing of Prof. Dr. Dr. Dres. h.c. Wilhelm Stoffel, who died on June 24, 2025, at the age of 97.

18/06/2025 | With the launch of the EVH, a new European project for pandemic preparedness vaccine development is taking off.

16/06/2025 | Hope for more effective treatment for aggressive B-cell lymphoma: A research team from the University Hospital of Cologne and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Cologne has discovered a previously unknown mechanism ...

13/06/2025 | At its 37th annual meeting in Nuremberg, the German Society for Ophthalmic Surgery (DOC) presented the DOC Research Award to Prof. Dr. Claus Cursiefen, Director of the Center for Ophthalmology at the University Hospital of Cologne ...

11/06/2025 | The "Green-up Your Lab competition" is now open to all research teams at the University of Cologne and University Hospital Cologne! Do you have a creative idea to make your lab more sustainable - by reducing waste, saving energy, or rethinking how resources are used? Click here ...

05/06/2025 | The research group led by Professor Dr. Johannes Vogt (Institute of Anatomy II, Molecular and Translational Neuroscience Group of the Medical Faculty of the University of Cologne and principle investigator at the Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne) and the researchers involved were recently awarded the Best Publication Award 2024 of the Anatomical Society ...

04/06/2025 | Professor Dr. Axel Heidenreich, director of urology at the University Hospital of Cologne and associated member of the Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC) , was appointed chairman and spokesman of the guideline commission on testicular germ cell tumors by the European Society of Urology.

04/06/2025 | Professor Dr. Florian Klein, director of the Institute of Virology at Cologne University Hospital and Executive Board Member at the Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC), was appointed a new member of the Leopoldina - the National Academy of Sciences.

03/06/2025 | of Professor Kurt Pfannkuche at the Faculty of Medicine (University of Cologne). The ZukunftBio.NRW funding of €850,000 marks an important step towards advancing potential regenerative therapies for myocardial infarction.

30/05/2025 | The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved a new Transregional Collaborative Research Centre at the University of Cologne: Together with scientists at the Universities of Hamburg and Münster, the researchers will study the control processes in the kidney filter.

28/05/2025 | Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing (one of them Professor Andreas Beyer, Principle Investigator at the Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne) have discovered that the combination of the two cancer drugs Rapamycin and Trametinib significantly extends the lifespan of mice.

28/05/2025 | Obesity is a global health problem that affects many people. In recent years, very promising anti-obesity drugs have been developed. Despite these successes, there are patients who do not respond to these drugs or suffer from side effects. Therefore, there is still an unmet need for therapies. Researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Metabolism Research

27/05/2025 | CECAD researcher, clinical mycology expert and associated principle investigator at the Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC) Professor Dr. Oliver A. Cornely will serve as President of ISHAM, the leading global society for fungal infections.

23/05/2025 | Five proposals for Clusters of Excellence win funding in the federal competition / Clusters in the fields of aging research, astrophysics, plant sciences, quantum research and economics will receive funding

20/05/2025 | The Center for Molecular Medicine Cologne (CMMC) congratulates Professor Aleksandra Trifunovic on receiving the University of Cologne’s Max Delbrück Prize for her pioneering contributions to mitochondrial biology.