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The Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, the University of Bonn, and the Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST), Japan, have established a long-term research collaboration. The partnership is based on a Memorandum of Understanding, a student exchange agreement, and an international cross-appointment. It focuses on AI-driven research in life sciences, bio- and chemistry informatics, data science, and materials science, with the aim of advancing data-driven methodologies through international cooperation and supporting early-career researchers in a global research environment.
Bonn/ Nara, January 28th, 2026. The Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence, the University of Bonn, and the Nara Institute of Science and Technology (NAIST) in Japan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding and an Agreement on Student Exchange. The agreements provide the framework for long-term cooperation in research, teaching, and scientific exchange at the interface of AI-supported life sciences, bioinformatics, chemical informatics, data science, and materials science. The cooperation is an example of targeted international research that goes far beyond symbolic collaboration.
Japan as a strategic partner in the global research context
Japan is one of the leading countries in terms of technology in the fields of robotics, materials science, and applied AI in medicine. With its Society 5.0 government program, the country is pursuing the goal of combining scientific innovation with social benefits—especially in an aging society where digital technologies and artificial intelligence are intended to improve quality of life. The Nara Institute of Science and Technology is part of the Japanese excellence program J-PEAKS, which promotes the establishment of research-intensive university consortia and international networking among leading universities.
This research-oriented technological excellence makes Japan an ideal partner for the methodological advancement of data-driven research. The collaboration was initiated by the NAIST Data Science Center and the Life Sciences & Health division of the Lamarr Institute, which have enjoyed a long-standing relationship.
Advances in scientific and medically oriented AI research today require not only large amounts of data, but also the combination of different modeling approaches and interdisciplinary research concepts. “The greatest advances occur where the development of AI methods, data-driven modeling, and experimental research intersect,” says Prof. Dr. Jürgen Bajorath, head of the Life Sciences & Health division at the Lamarr Institute. “International collaborations such as this one promote excellent, effective, and socially relevant research to a particular degree.”
International Training and Exchange for Early-Career Researchers
As one of Japan's leading universities of excellence in information, bio, and materials sciences, NAIST brings this research strength to the partnership. Together with the University of Bonn and the Lamarr Institute, this creates a network that systematically combines methodological approaches, data expertise, and experimental research. The agreements lay the foundation for joint research projects, teaching formats, and a structured student exchange program. Students and doctoral candidates will be involved in international research projects at an early stage and gain insights into scientific working methods in different cultural circles. The student exchange program enables master's and doctoral students from both institutions to spend up to one academic year conducting research abroad.
To expand scientific cooperation, Dr. Andrea Mastropietro took up a new position at the beginning of the year: He will work as a junior research group leader at the University of Bonn and the Lamarr Institute, while also taking on a cross-appointment as assistant professor at NAIST. In his research group, he works on graph-based learning methods, generative AI, and explainable AI for applications in the life sciences. “I am very much looking forward to combining research and teaching across national borders in the future and to providing new scientific impetus together with colleagues in Bonn and Japan,” says Mastropietro.
The new partnership creates a value-based alliance between two research systems that focus on transparency, responsibility, and sustainable knowledge gain—thus forming an alternative to the established research axes with the US and China. The cooperation stands for practical international collaboration in research, in which AI methods are specifically developed in areas where they can have a social impact – such as in health research and in the context of demographic change.
Caroline Winter
Lamarr Institute for Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence
caroline.winter@uni-bonn.de
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