Networking

Our collaborative research projects
Basic research thrives on knowledge exchange and interdisciplinary cooperation. Our research departments and groups are teaming up with other international experts in third-party funded research projects.

In addition to our many, often bilateral collaborations on individual research projects and joint publications, our research groups are also involved in several local, national and international research networks. These network projects are funded by third party funding sources, such as the German Research Foundation (DFG), the state government of North Rhine-Westphalia or the European Commission.

Here, you find a selection of our research networks

BABots

Our Neural Information Flow lab is partner of the large-scale European biorobotics project “BABots”, funded by the European Innovation Council (EIC). The seven European partners of this ambitious project will be working on a new approach to bio-robotics based on “Biological Animal roBots” (BaBots).

iBehave

Our research groups are part of the large joint project “iBehave”, funded by the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. Researchers from the universities of Bonn, Cologne and Aachen, the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the Forschungszentrum Jülich collaborate across disciplines and species to study survival-related behaviors and their underlying neuronal networks.

SPP 2041

Our Department of Computational Neuroethology and In Silico Brain Sciences lab are part of the Priority Programme Computational Connectomics, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG). “Connectomics” data provide comprehensive maps of neuronal networks by studying anatomy and function of wiring diagrams of the brain. In this project, the growing need of new computational approaches is met, with the goal to advance our understanding of the relationship between brain structure and function.

DFG SPP 1926

In this Priority Programme Next Generation Optogenetics, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), partners from Israel, Switzerland and Germany work together on new optogenetic tools and applications. Optogenetics tools are proteins sensitive to light that allow, amongst other applications, to control neurons in living animals, evoking or inhibiting neuronal activity and even affecting animal behavior. Our core facility Genetic Engineering is one of the partners in this project.

SFB 1089

Our In Silico Brain Sciences lab is part of the collaborative research center Synaptic Micronetworks in Health and Disease , coordinated by the University of Bonn. The project’s aim is to elucidate fundamental rules of the dynamics of neuronal networks and how this translates to behavior. This will also help to better understand both pathophysiology and therapeutic options of diseases of the central nervous system.

ERC Grants

In addition to collaborative projects, three of our group leaders are holding prestigiuos grants of the European Research Council: Pascal Malkemper, Marcel Oberlaender and Bettina Schnell. The individual links will take you to the respective website.

Networking