The Future of LIFE: Understanding, Protecting, Shaping Life
Microbial cultures in Petri dishes, front: Streptomyces lividans
Image: Jan-Peter Kasper (University of Jena)
About the LIFE profile
The LIFE profile supports existing structures within the main research areas in the life sciences and medicine, which have a long tradition in Jena. At the same time, new and innovative topics are identified and promoted. A high degree of interdisciplinarity within the LIFE profile connects the different faculties of the Friedrich Schiller University and the non-university partners. The application of technical solutions in biological research interlinks the LIGHT and LIFE profiles, whereas social and ethical aspects are explored in connection with the LIBERTY profile.
Developing sustainable materials with digital methods for key challenges
Image: Jan-Peter Kasper (University of Jena)
Life Sciences with Tradition
Portrait of the founder of ecology Ernst Haeckel
Image: Archiv Hoßfeld
Natural sciences in Jena have a long tradition. Specifically the disciplines botany, ecology and microbiology have a long-standing history in the science location Jena.
In the mid-nineteenth century, the botanist Matthias Jacob Schleiden was the first to describe cells in living plants, and with this became a pioneer of the modern cell theory. His collaborative efforts together with Carl Zeiß and Ernst Abbe built the basis for a lasting and strong connection between the life sciences and the optical industry in Jena, which still is the driving force for innovations in the ‘science city’.
The term ‘Ecology’ was, in fact, born in Jena. With it, in 1866, the evolution scientist Ernst Haeckel defined a new sub-discipline within biology, which addresses the interactions between organisms and their environment. The chemical basis of such interactions is explored in the field of Chemical Ecology, which also is rooted in Jena by studies of the botanist Ernst Stahl.
The microbiologist Hans Knöll dedicated himself to drug discovery and production, in the early twentieth century. He was particularly interested in the production of penicillin and the tuberculosis vaccine BCG. The BCG institute that he founded in 1950 – later the Central Institute for Microbiology and Experimental Therapy (ZIMET) and now the Hans Knöll Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology (HKIExternal link) – was the first building at the Beutenberg campusExternal link, which is the central location for research and science in Jena today.
The LIFE profile serves as a creative space and facilitator for emerging fields within the life sciences and medicine—acting as a starting point for interdisciplinary collaborations and research initiatives.
To ensure the continuous development and expansion of existing structures in research and teaching, the profile area LIFE supports researchers with a flexible funding program. Information on funding lines, requirements, application deadlines, and funding modalities can be found here.
Illustration: Franziska Eberl modified by Dania Rose-Sperling
Researchers from Jena, Cambridge and Bengaluru discover a special communication pathway in social amoebae—and a possible building block on the path to complex life
For the first time, a research team from the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology and University of Jena has demonstrated that insects can mimic floral scents to manipulate pollinators
Using chemical biology tools, the Lakemeyer Lab investigates microbial interactions and host–microbe communication, uncovering molecular processes that shape health, disease, and microbial ecosystems.
The 12-member coordination team of the profile area LIFE acts as a reporting and strategic body. The coordination team is chaired by Prof. Dr Michael Bauer and Prof. Dr Ute Hellmich. In addition, the team is supported by a group of coordinators.
