Lichtenberg-Professuren / Lichtenberg Professorships

Bewilligungen / Grants 2005

Controls of ecological stability of marine ecosystems over long temporal scales (global evolutionary biogeosciences)

Bewilligung: 21.12.2005 Laufzeit: 5 Jahre

Conservation of biodiversity and the impact of global change on ecosystems are among the key issues of a world increasingly influenced by mankind. The project will unravel the feedbacks between abiotic change, ecological traits and biodiversity in ecosystems in an evolutionary framework. Focussing on processes in deep time and applying a top-down approach, general principals of the interplay between earth system change and ecological evolution are extracted.
Marine ecosystems over the entire Phanerozoic are the scope of the analyses. To analyze patterns and processes over large temporal and spatial scales, large paleobiological and geochemical databases, new approaches to ecological stability metrics, new resampling techniques, and ecological modeling are used. Going down in scale, selected time intervals such as the Jurassic and the Pleistocene will be analyzed in more detail, focussing on ecological stability in a greenhouse world and a strongly fluctuating icehouse world. A further scope will be the role of mass extinctions in altering the resistance and resilience stability of ecosystems. Here, the focus will be on the end-Triassic
and the end-Cretaceous mass extinctions, which although similar in magnitude are very different in their biological response.

Humboldt-Universität Berlin
Museum für Naturkunde
Professor Dr. Wolfgang Kießling
Invalidenstraße 43
10115 Berlin
Tel.: 030 2093 8576
Fax: 030 2093 8868

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Biophysical models for collective phenomena in membranes: bridging the gap between atomistic structure and biological function

Bewilligung: 08.09.2005 Laufzeit: 5 Jahre

Many fascinating phenomena in biological membranes involve the collective motion of many lipids. In spite of being important for fundamental processes, the basic biophysical mechanism is not understood. Much of the difficulty in obtaining microscopic insight can be traced back to the time and length scales, which are neither amenable to fully atomistic simulations nor to direct experimental observation. Within the scope of the professorship coarse-grained models will be developped for collective, biophysical phenomena in biological membranes; rather a small number of atoms is lumped into an effective particle which interacts with other effective particles via coarse-grained, simplified potentials. Hence, coarse-grained models can address the pertinent window of time and length scale, unattainable to atomistic simulations, and thus contribute to a more direct picture of collective phenomena in membranes.

Universität Göttingen
Institut für Theoretische Physik
Professor Dr. Marcus Müller
Friedrich-Hund-Platz 1
37077 Göttingen
Tel.: 0551 393888
Fax: 0551 399631

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Philosophie- und Wissenschaftsgeschichte der griechisch-arabisch-lateinischen Tradition (W2)

Bewilligung: 21.07.2005 Laufzeit: 5 Jahre

Die Professur zielt auf die Erforschung der griechisch-arabisch-lateinischen Tradition der Philosophie- und Wissenschaftsgeschichte in Europa mit Schwerpunkt auf der Zeit vom 12. bis zum 18. Jahrhundert. Zu den langfristigen Planungen für die Professur gehören die Verwirklichung von wichtigen Editionsvorhaben (darunter der Kommentar des Averroes zur Aristotelischen Metaphysik), die Dokumentation des arabischen Einflusses auf die europäische Wissenschaftssprache, die Klärung des historischen Komplexes der zwei Übersetzungsbewegungen vom Griechischen ins Arabische und vom Arabischen ins Lateinische sowie die Erschließung des griechisch-arabischen Einflusses in Psychologie, Metaphysik und Kosmologie. Darüber hinaus geht es um die Darstellung des arabischen Erbes in einem allgemein verständlichen Buch auf dem neuesten Forschungsstand sowie die Publikation eines Bandes mit deutschen Übersetzungen mittelalterlicher arabischer Texte, der als Grundlage für Seminare über den arabischen Einfluss im Abendland dienen kann. In der Lehre sollen auch Elemente der angelsächsischen Lehrkultur (Essay-Seminare, "directed reading"-Sitzungen) zum Tragen kommen.

Universität Würzburg
Institut für Philosophie - Lehrstuhl III
Professor Dr. Dag Nikolaus Hasse
Residenz - Südflügel
97070 Würzburg
Tel.: 0931 312850
Fax: 0931 312855

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Monogenic phenotypes as gateways to signalling networks in development and disease

Bewilligung: 24.03.2005 Laufzeit: 5 Jahre

Genes underlying a vast amount of monogenic disorders have been dentified during the last two decades. The majority of these genes have not been placed in their molecular signaling context. Within the scope of the professorship clinical phenotype analysis and biochemical analysis are systematically merged to maximize exploitation of this as yet largely unused database. While transgenic mice are firmly established as a model for the study of human disease, there are obvious limitations to this approach. These include the exclusion of environmental factors and outbred genetic background from the analysis of transgenic mice. Thus, while recognizing the utility and necessity of relying on the murine model whenever appropriate, it is planned to implement an experimental framework for a systematic use of clinical genetic phenotypes to uncover molecular signaling networks.

Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Campus Mitte
Klinik für Dermatologie, Venerologie
und Allergologie
Professor Dr. Susann Schweiger
Schumannstr. 20/21
10117 Berlin

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Interdisciplinary stroke research

Bewilligung: 24.03.2005 Laufzeit: 5 Jahre

Stroke is the third leading cause of death and primary reason for long-term disability in western societies. Current treatment strategies, however, are disappointing and do not significantly reduce stroke morbidity and mortality. Within the scope of the professorship two scientific concepts will be targeted; the first deals with vascular mechanisms and interventions by analyzing whether increased nitric oxide-production is a feasible preventive strategy for stroke treatment in man, what the ideal therapeutic interventions are, whether endothelial progenitor cells contribute to stroke protection, and whether this can be visualized by imaging techniques. The second concept explores the finding that differentiated post-mitotic neurons can divide and give rise to two differential mature neurons when certain genes are expressed which may represent a novel approach for regenerative stroke treatment.

Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Campus-Mitte
Klinik und Poliklinik für Neurologie
Professor Dr. Matthias Endres
Schumannstraße 20/21
10117 Berlin
Tel.: 030 450560 257
Fax: 030 450560 932

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Clinical and molecular neurogenetics

Bewilligung: 21.03.2005 Laufzeit: 5 Jahre

The focus of the professorship is clinical and molecular neurogenetics with a special emphasis on movement disorders including Parkinson's disease, dystonia, spinocerebellar ataxia, and restless legs syndrome. However, several of the projects will have broader implications for a better understanding of common genetic mechanisms and of physiological and pathophysiological processes of the brain in general. Similarly, many of the techniques and methods employed will be applicable to other genes and disorders. The overall aim is to further elucidate the phenotype spectrum of neurogenetic disorders, to identify the disease causing or modifying genes and mutations, and to characterize their functional roles. This will provide insights into the etiology and pathophysiology of neurogenetic disease, result in improved genetic testing and counseling, and potentially yield new treatment options.

Universitätsklinikum Schleswig-Holstein
Campus Lübeck
Klinik für Neurologie
Professor Dr. Christine Klein
Ratzeburger Allee 160
23538 Lübeck
Tel.: 0451 500 2992
Fax: 0451 500 2489

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