Projects

The SFB1328 was approved by the DFG in 2018, initially for four years (until 2022). It has since been extended for another 4 years (until 2026).
Speaker is Prof. Dr. Andreas Guse, University of Hamburg; Vice-speaker is Prof. Dr. Christa Müller (Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, University of Bonn).

Since April 2023, the German Research Foundation (DFG) has been funding the interdisciplinary and internationally oriented Research Training Group "Tools and Drugs of the Future - Innovative Methods and New Modalities in Medicinal Chemistry" with 6.3 million euros (speaker: Prof. Dr. Christa Müller, vice-speaker: Prof. Dr. Finn Hansen).
The first funding period runs until 2028. In addition to Prof. Müllers working group, the working groups of Prof. Dr. Gerd Bendas, Dr. Max Crüsemann, Prof. Dr. Finn Hansen, Prof. Dr. Michael Gütschow, Prof. Dr. Evi Kostenis, Dr. Anna Müller, Prof. Dr. Tanja Schneider, Dr. Christian Steinebach and Prof. Dr. Günther Weindl from the Faculty of Pharmacy and the Faculty of Medicine are involved.

Speaker: Priv. Doz. Dr. Carole Gee, Paleontology. The research group has been funded since 2018, initially for 3 years until the end of 2020. In the meantime the funding has been extended (2021-2025).
From the Department of Pharmacy, the group of Prof. Dr. Christa Müller (Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry) is involved in two projects with its chemical-analytical expertise.

The Collaborative Research Consortium 333 BATenergy (CRC/TRR 333) aims to understand the regulation of energy expenditure and metabolism focusing on brown adipose tissue. To achieve this goal, the DFG funded project brings together scientists with different backgrounds from four different universities and institutions (UKB, UKE, TUM and Helmholtz Center Munich). They combine their expertise and knowledge to answer questions that relate to organ crosstalk, intercellular communication and intracellular signalling pathways of brown adipose tissue. In the light of metabolic diseases like diabetes or obesity, the understanding of energy homeostasis and adipose tissue regulation plays a crucial role in finding new ways of treatment including drug-based therapies.

The 17 scientific projects are supported by 2 service projects providing bioinformatics and molecular analyses (Proteomics, Lipidomics and Metabolomics), thus further strengthening the collaboration within the consortium. For the doctoral researchers, a structured program given by an integrated Research Training Group (iRTG) helps to enhance work-related skills and ensures a qualified supervision by regular progress evaluation.

Organ Crosstalk, Signaling and Energetics (BATenergie). Speaker: Prof. Dr. Alexander Pfeifer,  since 2021.

The Collaborative Research Centre / Transregio 259 project focuses on the complex structure and function of the aorta, comprising the aortic valve, ascending aorta, and descending sections. Different aortic regions face unique stresses, resulting in specific diseases that share common mechanisms, including endothelial dysfunction, immune cell activation, and altered cell metabolism. These processes lead to inflammation, faulty extracellular matrix deposition, and calcification, which contribute to aortic wall and valve damage. Aortic disease is influenced by both resident factors (like oxidative stress) and non-resident factors (such as immune cells and signaling molecules), with genetic predisposition also playing a role. Despite the high prevalence and mortality of aortic diseases, their unique pathologies and interconnections remain poorly understood.

This CRC aims to investigate the molecular and cellular mechanisms behind aortic diseases, especially aortic valve stenosis, aneurysm, and dissection, to identify potential targets for future diagnostics and treatments. The collaboration among three universities along the Rhine River unites basic and clinical science experts, addressing a critical gap in cardiovascular research and paving the way for innovative therapeutic approaches.

Spokeperson in Bonn: Prof. Dr. Georg Nickenig

Vice-Spokeperson in Cologne: Prof. Dr. Stephan Baldus

Vice-Spokeperson in Düsseldorf: Prof. Dr. Malte Kelm

The TRR259 was approved in 2019 and initially funded until 2023. It has since received renewed approval for a second funding period until 2027.

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INTERPOLAR, as a follow-up project to POLAR, is an intervention study funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Within the framework of INTERPOLAR, we investigate whether a risk analysis based on electronic patient data can reliably identify medication-related problems and reduce them in everyday clinical practice. The overall aim is to use the limited time resources of physicians and clinical pharmacists more efficiently.

Prof. Dr. Ulrich Jaehde (Clinical Pharmacy) is a member of the steering group and leads the work package for operationalization and advancement of the algorithms.

The Federal Ministry of Health (BMG) is funding the model project "Safety-FIRST" with €600,000 from 2023 to 2026. Together with 24 centers from hospitals and specialised practices, the aim is to strengthen the interprofessional on-site competence in the care of patients undergoing oral cancer therapy and to improve medication safety (AMTS) in this area. The nationwide project is led by an AMTS competence center of the University Hospital Erlangen, the University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, and the Department of Clinical Pharmacy at the University of Bonn (Prof. Dr. Ulrich Jaehde).

DFG Research Unit FOR 2372:
The Research Group "G-Protein Signaling Cascades: Towards novel pharmacological concepts with new molecular probes and modulators" (Speaker: Prof. Dr. Evi Kostenis, Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology) runs from 2016 to 2022. In addition to the coordinator, Prof. Dr. Gabriele König, Dr. Max Crüsemann (both from the Institute of Pharmaceutical Biology) and Prof. Dr. Christa Müller (Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry) from the Department of Pharmacy were involved.

DFG Research Training Group RTG 1873:
“Pharmacology of 7TM receptors and downstream signaling pathways”. Speaker: Prof. Dr. Alexander Pfeifer. Duration: 2016 - 2023.

DFG Priority Program 1934
"Innovative pharmaceutical stabilization and formulation processes for protein drugs and their influence on sequence and structure". From the Department of Pharmacy, Dr. Toni Kühl, Prof. Dr. Diana Imhof, Prof. Dr. Alf Lamprecht and Prof. Dr. Karl Wagner are funded from 2019 (until 2022) within the project "Dispersity, structure and phase changes of proteins and biological agglomerates in biotechnological processes".

DFG-TRR 261:
“Cellular mechanisms of antibiotic action and production”. Project speakers: Prof. Dr. Heike Brötz-Oesterheit & Prof. Dr. Tanja Schneider, funding period: 2019 -2023 

DFG Research Unit 917:
“Nanoparticle-based targeting of gene- and cell-based therapies (Nanoguide)”. Speaker: Prof. Dr. Alexander Pfeifer. Duration: 2009-2016

DFG Research Unit 854:
“Post-genomic strategies for new antibiotic agents and target structures. Speaker: Prof. Dr. Hans-Georg Sahl. Duration: 2008-2015

DFG Research Unit 926:
“Physiology and pathophysiology of the endocannabinoid system. Speaker: Prof. Dr. Andreas Zimmer. Duration: 2008-2015

Neuroalliance.
Speakers: Prof. Dr. Christa E. Müller and Prof. Dr. Alexander Pfeifer. Duration: 2009-2019

Prof. Karl Wasgner led a cooperation project with the companies Colvistec AG (Berlin) and Solids Development Consult GmbH (Leverkusen) as part of the "Zentrales Innovationsprogramm Mittelstand (ZIM)" (funding period: 2019-2022). The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action (BMWi) funded this project.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) funded the Bonn International Graduate School of Drug Sciences (BIGS DrugS) project - Translational and Innovative Drug Research. The project was dedicated to the research of innovative pharmacological targets and innovative drugs. Another focus was the translation and professionalization of research management. Speaker: Prof. Dr. Christa E. Müller, Pharmaceutical & Medicinal Chemistry, Pharmaceutical Institute, Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Vice Speaker: Prof. Dr. Alexander Pfeifer, Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Medicine. (Funding period: 2013-2020).

GIF (German-Israeli Foundation).
A German-Israeli collaborative project on "From structural biology of ecto-5'-nucleotidase to immunotherapy of cancer" was approved in 2019 (Duration until end of 2022). Project coordinator from the University of Bonn is Prof. Dr. Christa Müller.

NRW (North Rhine-Westphalia) International Graduate Research School BIOTECH-PHARMA.
Speaker: Prof. Dr. Alexander Pfeifer, Vice Speakers: Prof. Dr. Christa E. Müller and Prof. Dr. Klaus Mohr. Duration: 2009-2013