CRTD News-Feed

German Research Foundation supports two new Technology Platforms at biomedical Research Institutes of the TU Dresden

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 09:58:00 +0100

At the DFG Research Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden – Cluster of Excellence of the TU Dresden (CRTD) as well as at the Biotechnology Center of the TU Dresden (BIOTEC) the German Research Foundation (DFG) supports two new technology platforms which will each establish a cross-institutional service- and device pool of the highest scientific standards. Each of these research centers will be supported with 450,000 € for three years. A total of 57 applications have been filed nationwide, of which 11 projects will receive funding, two of them alone in Dresden, as announced by the DFG today.

German Press Release of CRTD/BIOTEC

German Press Release of the German Research Foundation

Girls' Day 2012 on April 26: Diversity Life Sciences - A career in science!

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 16:34:00 +0100

Can I enjoy Genom Engineering? What is the career path of a biologist who today observes, which cells can regenerate the injured foot of an axolotl? What tasks does a technician in the fish facility have in a research institute? If you are interested in the answers to these kinds of questions or if you just want to get a taste of science, then the DFG Research Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden/ Cluster of Excellence and the Biotechnology Center of the TU Dresden is the right place for you on April 26th from 2:30pm! Here, researchers from all over the world are working in different areas like cell biology, biophysics, (regenerative) medicine, or bioinformatics.
You will have the opportunity to talk to scientists and ask them lots of questions. A tour through our building will also give you an idea about the research taking place. Interested girls can register here for the Girl's Day.

European funding for comparative Regeneration Research in Dresden

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 13:11:00 +0100

The biochemist Prof. Elly Tanaka received the European „ERC Advanced Investigator Award“. This was announced yesterday by the European Research Council (ERC) in Brussels. The professor of the DFG Research Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden – Cluster of Excellence (CRTD) of the TU Dresden is one of the nearly 300 top scientists who have been awarded with the European grant. Her comparative research work will be funded with nearly 2.5 million euro for five years. German Press Release

Benedetta Artegiani receives PhD Student Award in Regenerative Medicine

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 15:23:00 +0100

The “Best Publication Award” by the Berlin-Brandenburg School for Regenerative Therapies (BSRT) was awarded to Benedetta Artegiani from the research group of Federico Calegari at the DFG Research Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden - Cluster of Excellence (CRTD) at the TU Dresden. The prize is given once a year by BSRT for excellent publications which promote the research of regenerative therapies. From the 17 submitted publications the independent jury had voted for Artegianis paper „Overexpression of cdk4 and cyclinD1 triggers greater expansion of neural stem cells in the adult mouse brain“ which was published in April 2011 in The Journal of Experimental Medicine (DOI:10.1084/jem.20102167). Further information

TU Dresden Ideas Competition: Campus 2020

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:46:00 +0100

TU Dresden launches a contest about 'Access and Locking Systems' that will start in the winter semester 2011/12. The winners will be awarded monetary prizes of a total amount of 3000 Euro.

Following a first practice, students of the TU Dresden should get involved in designing and shaping their campus and demonstrate their creativity in an annual ideas competition under the slogan 'Campus 2020'. Finally, this type of collaboration is an important target of TU Dresden’s future concept in the context of the 'Exzellenzbewegung'.

The first competition, starting in the winter semester 2011/12, is planned to occur in the context of cooperation with T-Systems Multimedia Solutions GmbH. The best proposed concepts will be awarded monetary prizes by the T-Systems MMS of a total amount of 3000 Euro. Additionally, the Studentenwerk will sponsor the competition with Mensa coupons.

Topic

Modern and sustainable ideas are sought regarding campus-wide access systems and locking systems, with easy and efficient operability: creative, ambitious, amazingly simple, or surprising solutions, which give access to simple seminar rooms and computer pools or other areas of the students campus life and improve everyday life at the university. In the best case, solutions will already support conditions of data security, barrier free accessibility, access right management or extended application areas such as Mensa settlement, library use, guideposts, etc. Further informations.

Teaching tolerance through science - Science goes to School! receives Saxon Integration Award

Sat, 26 Nov 2011 13:54:00 +0100

The DIPP School Project Science goes to school! was chosen out of 43 projects to be awarded the Saxon Integration Award and placed third. This award is initiated by the State Minister for Social Affairs and Consumer Protection, Christine Clauß, and the Officer for Aliens, Martin Gillo. It recognizes projects in Saxony that support tolerance and respect for people of different cultural, religious or ethnic backgrounds. Ten PhD students accepted the award in a ceremony on November 25, 2011 at the Landtag of Saxony with Matthias Rößler, chair of the Parliament. The award carries a value of 500 Euros.

In the DIPP School project, multinational teams of PhD students offer a two hour-workshop with experiments run in English at Dresden schools. After that, the PhD students are available for discussion on career models and on life in Dresden as a foreigner. The school project that teaches tolerance through science to young people was the response to the tragic murder of Marwa El-Sherbini, whose husband was a DIPP student in 2009.

“Amongst the students it became apparent that we - the scientific community with its strong dependence on international collaborations - could and should contribute to transforming the city into a more tolerant environment. We wanted to demonstrate that open-mindedness and curiosity are key for success in science and in society. It is the ideas of people that count, and not where they are from nor how they look like”, says Marcus Jahnel, PhD student from Germany. The students, however, really make an effort not to preach, but to teach: “We think that children need positive role models of tolerance and success”.

Avinash Chekuru from India joined this project because he likes teaching and interacting with society. “Moreover, motivating young scientists is an important aspect – I didn't experience this when I was in school”, he says. Portuguese researcher Vanessa Carlos adds: “Joining this project was an opportunity for me to give an example of tolerance, respect and show how fun it is to work in a multicultural environment.” All experiments are performed in English. “Trying to speak with young students the same language in all senses is a pleasant challenge”, explains Madina Karimova from Russia. “Having a common topic to talk about with pupils and young people can help to break the ice between us and local people, to let them see what we do and why are we here”. The project is also about fun: “It is great to inspire kids for science and to give them some insights into the crazy world that lies beyond their imagination”, says German PhD student Sebastian Dunst. This can also be a first detail to change things: “If we want things to change, we must get out of our cocoons and reach out to the community!” says Vanessa Carlos.

The Dresden International Graduate School for Biomedicine and Bioengineering (DIGS-BB) of the TU Dresden forms the shared network with the International Max Planck Research School for Molecular Cell Biology and Bioengineering (IMPRS-MCBB) and the Dresden International PhD Program (DIPP) - the biggest PhD program in Germany. DIPP joins high motivated junior scientists from about 30 countries.
The following institutions join the Dresden International PhD Program (DIPP): DFG Research Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden – Cluster of Excellence (CRTD), Biotechnologycenter of the TU Dresden, discipline Biology of the TU Dresden, Medical Theoretical Center (MTZ), Max Planck Institut of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG), Max Planck Institut for Physics of Complex Systems (MPI-PKS), Max Bergmann Center of Biomaterials Dresden (MBC), Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden e.V. (IPF), Leibniz-Institut für Polymerforschung Dresden (IPF), B CUBE - Center for Molecular Bioengineering TU Dresden. German Press Release

Regeneration after severe brain injury - formation of new nerve cells from stem cells elucidated for the first time in the zebrafish

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 11:21:00 +0100

After severe brain injury in zebrafish lost nerve cells are replaced by existing neural stem cells so efficient that even larger areas of the brain recover completely by itself. Although a remarkable regenerative capacity of the brain in fishes has been assumed for 50 years, the origin of new neurons and the controlling mechanisms remained unclear so far. For the first time Dresdner regeneration researchers of the DFG Research Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD) and the Biotechnology Center of the TU Dresden (BIOTEC) were able to identify the source of the restored nerve cells. In long term studies the new neurons survived more than three months and were permanently incorporated into the damaged brain. The scientists also showed that in the zebrafish brain, no scarring occurs after injury. This is in contrast to mammals, where scarring prevents the self-healing of the brain (Development 2011, DOI 10.1242/dev.072587). German Press Release

Super new building for super research

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 10:00:00 +0200

From today the DFG Research Center for Regenerative Therapies – Cluster of Excellence (CRTD) of the Technische Universität Dresden enjoys even better conditions for excellence in research with respect to its edificial shell. In total, the cost for the ultra-modern building, which completes the complex of the BioInnovationsZentrum in Dresden Johannstadt, amounts to 48.6 million €. The Free State of Saxony including the Technische Universität Dresden pay about 26 million Euros, while the Federal Government contributes 15 million euros. Over seven million euros are provided from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). German Press Release

Top-class increase for Dresdner biotechnology - The biophysicist Jochen Guck gains the Humboldt Professorship of the TU Dresden

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 13:43:00 +0200

The Center of Biotechnology of the TU Dresden (BIOTEC) has been awarded the Humboldt Professorship for cellular machines. The renowned research award goes to the biophysicist Dr. Jochen Guck (38), who currently researchs in the Cavendish Laboratory at Cambridge University (UK). This was announced today by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Federal Ministry for Education and Research. Jochen Guck receives a call to the Dresden University of Technology and will focus on the development of new biophysical approaches for stem cell research, blood cell diagnostics and neuroregeneration. The award is endowed with five million Euro for five years. German Press Release

Learning of the amphibian – Current research projects of DFG Research Center for Regenerative Therapies Dresden at the BIOTECHNICA

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 10:50:00 +0200

In animals like the Mexican salamander, or the zebrafish injured body parts often grow again completly. In contrast, the regeneration capacity of human organism is restricted. However, stem cell therapies could help in the future restoring humans defective tissues and organs true-to-life. To explore the healing potential of the body and to develop completely novel regenerative therapies for currently incurable diseases, is the goal of the DFG Research Center and Cluster of Excellence for Regenerative Therapies Dresden (CRTD). About their research focuses on hematology and immunology, diabetes, neurodegenerative diseases, and bone and cartilage informed the CRTD during the BIOTECHNICA of 11 to 13 October 2011 at the Saxon joint stand, Hall 9, Stand F18. German Press Release