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In the context of the Excellence Strategy of the Federal and State Governments, Heidelberg University has been successful with three applications in the Cluster of Excellence funding line. According to the decision on selection announced today (Thursday 22 May 2025), not only will the existing cluster 3DMM2O receive further funding – with SynthImmune and GreenRobust two new initiatives have also been selected for a seven-year funding period.
Press Release
Heidelberg, 22 May 2025
Universität Heidelberg Successful With Three Applications for Clusters of Excellence
Funding for research projects at the highest level internationally
In the context of the Excellence Strategy of the Federal and State Governments, Heidelberg University has been successful with three applications in the Cluster of Excellence funding line. According to the decision on selection announced today (Thursday 22 May 2025), not only will the existing cluster 3DMM2O receive further funding – with SynthImmune and GreenRobust two new initiatives have also been selected for a seven-year funding period. “The fact that we have crossed the finishing line with three cluster applications is an outstanding success achieved by our entire university. I would like to thank everyone involved for their great commitment, and I am delighted that, in the next seven years, this funding will allow us to advance these very different interdisciplinary research projects at the highest level internationally,” says Prof. Dr Frauke Melchior, Rector of Ruperto Carola. At the same time, Heidelberg University has taken the first hurdle in the competition for further finance as a University of Excellence, since a precondition for making that application is two approved clusters.
The Cluster of Excellence funding line provides project-related finance for internationally competitive research fields at German universities or for university consortia with the goal of enhancing their research profile. Besides the SynthImmune cluster based solely at Heidelberg University, the 3DMM2O cluster is operated jointly with the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology; the universities of Tübingen, Heidelberg, and Hohenheim are working together in the GreenRobust cluster. With three successful cluster applications, the way is free for Heidelberg University to compete again for the status as a University of Excellence. The evaluation report with an outlook on the future university strategy must be submitted by early August; then follows the on-site visit of the international reviewer group in November this year. 11 March 2026 will see the announcement of the final decision as to which of the present universities will continue as members of the group of Universities of Excellence. “We will now work our hardest to be successful with this second step, as well,” says the Rector. “As a research university of international standing we are excellently positioned and so we face this great challenge with confidence.”
3DMM2O Cluster of Excellence
3D Matter Made to Order
3D printing technology makes it possible to turn digital blueprints into reality. With this kind of shaping, material is locally added instead of being subtracted. Scalable 3D printing using a wide range of inorganic, organic, biobased and hybrid materials has developed into a powerful tool for the life and engineering sciences. The 3DMM2O Cluster of Excellence – 3D Matter Made to Order – operated by the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Heidelberg University is taking these 3D printing technologies from the macroscale towards the molecular scale and has pioneered multi-photon laser printing.
In the second funding period, using holographic printing, 3DMM2O researchers will work towards the “one-shot” formation of organoids from living cells and achieving unprecedentedly high print rates for organic structures. Furthermore, they also plan to create a new platform for testing disease models using printed biohybrid microsystems, to directly or indirectly print three-dimensional inorganic architectures, or to realize optical switches that promise energy savings for internet communications. 3DMM2O’s interdisciplinary research program builds on the complementary strengths of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology and Heidelberg University.
The spokespersons of the cluster are Prof. Dr Martin Wegener (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology) and Prof. Dr Christine Selhuber-Unkel, who conducts research at the Institute for Molecular Systems Engineering and Advanced Materials of Heidelberg University.
SynthImmune Cluster of Excellence
Engineering Immune Function with Synthetic Biology
The human immune system provides powerful protection against many diseases but fails to prevent lethal progress of some infections and types of cancer. Protective immunity requires cells to excel in recognizing target structures and carrying out immune functions, with individual immune cell clones able to form a “superior” immunity. The SynthImmune Cluster of Excellence – Engineering Immune Function with Synthetic Biology – aspires to decode the mechanisms of this elite immune function, using this knowledge to reconstruct them from synthetic and molecular building-blocks and develop prototypes of new therapies.
With this new bottom-up process in the research field of synthetic immunology, complex immune functions are to be achieved from synthetic molecular building blocks, and no longer by modifying existing cells or molecules as in the past. Using computer-supported modeling, the researchers in the cluster will identify essential functions of immune cells and their specific molecular signatures. This knowledge will be used to construct functional elite immunity modules from minimal components, generated through synthetic biology, nanotechnology and protein design. Building on this bottom-up approach, the aim is to conceptualize a new class of synthetic immunotherapies that overcomes the critical limitations of top-down engineering of patient-derived immune cells.
The spokespersons of the cluster are Prof. Dr Oliver Fackler (Medical Faculty Heidelberg), Prof. Dr Kerstin Göpfrich (Center for Molecular Biology of Heidelberg University) and Prof. Dr Michael Platten (Medical Faculty Mannheim).
GreenRobust Cluster of Excellence
Understanding Robustness in Plants from Molecules to Ecosystems
Plants are the foundations of life on earth. To ensure their survival, they have evolved strategies to cope with changes in their environment through a remarkable robustness, i.e. the ability to maintain their functions in the face of disturbances. With the human impact on the environment of our planet growing day by day, understanding the mechanisms and limits of plant robustness is crucial for developing effective, knowledge-based strategies that help preserve plant ecosystems and ensure agricultural productivity.
The GreenRobust Cluster of Excellence – Understanding Robustness in Plants from Molecules to Ecosystems – combines the expertise of the universities of Tübingen, Heidelberg, and Hohenheim to understand the principles of how plants achieve robustness. The cluster comprises three research fields. The scientists examine the effects of different climatic and biotic disturbances as well as the influence of these disturbances across different levels of biological organization, from molecules to populations. In addition, they study related diversity within a selected group of species from environmentally and agriculturally important plant families. To this end, using network theory and artificial intelligence, the GreenRobust researchers develop and test novel computational models describing the mechanisms of plant robustness.
The spokespersons of the cluster are Prof. Dr Rosa Lozano-Durán (University of Tübingen), Prof. Dr Karl Schmid (University of Hohenheim) and Prof. Dr Thomas Greb, who conducts research at the Centre for Organismal Studies of Heidelberg University.
Further information:
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