The Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin (MPZPM) is an interdisciplinary joint research center of the Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light (MPL), the Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and the Universitätsklinikum Erlangen (UKER). The MPZPM is home to several research groups covering different research areas at the interface of physics and medicine. In addition to five permanent groups (Franze, Guck, Ladoux, Sandoghdar, Zaburdaev), there is room for a further five independent research groups who find excellent research conditions: two W2-level groups from MPL and UKER, and three further groups with their own funding through ERC Starting Grants, ERC Consolidator Grants, or DFG Emmy Noether grants (please contact us if you are interested). Research is supported by central facilities for advanced microscopy, in vivo models, and lab-on-a-chip systems.

A mechanical view on metastasis and the role of tumor cell viscosity

Millions of people worldwide are diagnosed with cancer every year. In advanced tumor diseases, cancer cells detach from the original tumor and settle in other parts of the body to form metastases. A multidisciplinary research team has investigated how the mechanical properties of tumor cells circulating through blood vessels influence their metastatic pathways.

Read more

Beyond Chemistry: How Mechanical Forces Shape Brain Wiring

An international team has shown that tissue stiffness controls the production of key signalling molecules in the developing brain. This discovery reveals a fundamental link between mechanical forces and chemical guidance that shapes how axons find their paths. It could help scientists understand how other organs and body systems develop and may inform new medical approaches.

Read more

DFG funds brain development research at MPZPM with half a million euros

The process of “epigenetic memory” in nerve cells plays a key role for example in learning ability, memory function, and healthy brain development. Prof. Tomohisa Toda at MPZPM aims to investigate how nerve cells preserve a specific set of gene expressions via epigenetic regulation. The project will receive approximately €500,000 in funding over a period of three years.

Read more

Lectures on Physics and Medicine

In the next event of our talk series “Lectures on Physics and Medicine” on February 5, Prof. Dr. Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla (Institute of Epigenetics and Stem Cells (IES), Helmholtz Zentrum München) will talk about “Molecular mechanisms of cellular plasticity and epigenetic reprogramming”.

Read more
Dr. Viola Introini, wearing a lab coat sitting at a work bench in her lab and smiling at the camera.

Research Group Leader Dr. Viola Introini receives Hector Research Career Development Award

The Hector Research Career Development Award honors young researchers on their way to becoming professors. This year, it will be awarded to Dr. Viola Introini, among others. She is head of the “Vascular Infection” research group at the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin (MPZPM). As a prize…

Read more
Konstantin Hein and Humberto Romero Limon are in a laboratory, showing their certificate of the Award and smiling at the camera.

Newly established Jochen Guck Award honors research at MPZPM

The newly established Jochen Guck Award was presented for the first time. It honors research, which applies Brillouin Microscopy in Biology. The first recipients are Konstantin Hein and Humberto Romero Limon, both PhD students at the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin (MPZPM).

Read more

MPZPM research group leader receives Early Career Scientist Prize

Dr. Viola Introini has been awarded the Early Career Scientist Prize in Biological Physics by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP). She receives the prize for her novel physical approach to malaria research. Her lab at the Max-Planck-Zentrum für Physik und Medizin (MPZPM)…

Read more

MPZPM press team

To get in contact with our Communications & Marketing Team please feel free to make your request at: presse@mpzpm.de.

For further information about specific press enquiries or the latest press releases and pictures, please visit our Press Page.

Contact

Spokesperson of the Scientific Board
Prof. Vahid Sandoghdar

Please contact:
Gee-Hye Yeo (PA)
Kussmaulallee 2
91054 Erlangen
Email: guck-office@mpl.mpg.de
Phone: +49 9131 8284 501

Head of Infrastructure
Dr. Dorothe Burggraf

Please contact:
Lisa Spann (PA)
Staudtstraße 2
91058 Erlangen
Email: lisa.spann@mpl.mpg.de
Phone: +49 9131 7133 801

Cooperation partners

Graduate Program

© Max Planck Institute for the Science of Light

Data Collection

This website uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website.

Get more info about used cookies
Cookie optin by Olli machts