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Science Funding knowledge for tomorrow. The Volkswagen Foundation – a partner for creative researchers
Cornelius Schmaltz, Henrike Hartmann, Anja Fließ Volkswagen-Stiftung, Hannover, Germany For some 40 years now, the Volkswagen Foundation has been committed to supporting science and technology as well as the social sciences and humanities in research and higher education. It is an autonomous, private, non-profit-making organization whose office is located in Hannover, Germany. With funding of around 100 million euros per year, it is one of the largest private research funding organization in Germany. Financial support is available for research projects in all disciplines, and the changing funding initiatives emphasize opportunities for junior scientists, international collaboration, and the improvement of the conditions for research and higher education. To date, the Volkswagen Foundation has allocated more than three thousand million euros to some 28,000 projects in Germany and all over the world.  Download PDF of the Article (265 KB)
ReviewsRNA silencing. 90th International Titisee Conference
Sébastien Pfeffer, Gunter Meister, Markus Landthaler, Thomas Tuschl Laboratory of RNA Molecular Biology, The Rockefeller University, New York, USA The 90th Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds International Titisee Conference »RNA silencing« took place between 21 and 24 October 2004 and was organized by Thomas Jenuwein, Research Institute of Molecular Pathology (IMP), Vienna, Austria, and Thomas Tuschl, Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA. The meeting brought together a diverse spectrum of scientists concerned with understanding the function of double-stranded RNA triggering gene silencing in animals, plants and fission yeast. The silencing processes are guided by processing products of the dsRNA trigger, which are known as small interfering RNAs (siRNAs) and microRNAs (miRNAs). The presentations at the conference discussed the natural function of these small RNAs and the possibility to exploit RNA silencing mechanisms to mediate silencing of disease-causing genes. Download PDF of the Article (252 KB)
Curbing the genome. The DNA-binding factor CTCF co-ordinates gene expression
Joerg Leers, Rainer Renkawitz
Institute for Genetics, Justus-Liebig-University, Gießen, Germany
The transcription of genes is a tightly regulated process involving the concerted action of hundreds of players. Co-ordinated function of regulatory factors concentrated in subnuclear ,,factories” could help to mediate this task. In such a scenario, genes have to be arranged in nuclear space such that they can profit from the concentration of regulatory factors. The DNA-binding protein CTCF is involved in the repression, as well as in the activation, of many genes. It not only can bind to a large variety of DNA sequences, but can also bend DNA upon binding, shielding genes from inappropriate stimuli from distant enhancers. Furthermore, CTCF reads imprinted marks and mediates the activities of imprinted genes. We review functional studies of this important regulator, which may fulfil all the requirements of a genome organizer in nuclear space.
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Research Articles of B.I.F. Fellows (Results)
In these final accounts, B.I.F. scholarship holders present a brief summary of the research results and publications of their PhD project. The role of protein palmitoylation in membrane fusionLars Dietrich, Diplom-Biologe Biochemie Zentrum (BZH), Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
A gene therapeutic approach for prolonged allograft survival
Cornelia Doebis, Diplom-Biologin
Institut für Medizinische Immunologie, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin, Germany
Proteins on the edge of binding
Raik Grünberg, Diplom-Biochemiker
Unité de Bioinformatique Structurale, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France
Ras signalling: role of post-translational modifications in protein interaction and localization
Martin Kahms, Diplom-Biochemiker
Abteilung strukturelle Biologie, Max-Planck-Institut für molekulare Physiologie, Dortmund, Germany
Co-transcriptional recruitment of the U1 snRNP
Kimberly Kotovic, Biologist BSc
Arbeitsgruppe Pre-mRNA Splicing in the Nuclear Landscape, Max-Planck-Institut für molekulare Zellbiologie und Genetik, Dresden, Germany
Targeting gene therapy to neuroinflammatory lesions in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis
Christian Rochford, Pharmacologist, BSc
Abteilung Neuroimmunologie, European Neuroscience Institute (ENI), Göttingen, Germany
New ProjectsThe Board of Trustees of the Boehringer Ingelheim Fonds meets 3 times annually to decide upon the allocation of PhD scholarships. On February 18-19, 2005 they discussed 51 applications – preselected from the original 137 applications sent to the secretariat – in Berlin, Germany. Once again, the limited resources available meant that a considerable number of convincing applications had to be turned down. The following 14 projects and applicants were selected.
U3 snoRNP structure determination by single-particle electron microscopy
Franziska Bleichert, MD
Department of Genetics, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
Role of Vegfa/Kdr signalling in muscle and haematopoietic cell development
Ilse De Vos, Bioengineer, MSc
Vascular Cell Biology Unit, Department for Molecular Biomedical Research, Flanders Interuniversity Institute for Biotechnology (VIB), University of Gent, Gent, Belgium
HIF-2alpha in hypoxic gene regulation and tumour progression
Michaela Gruber, Biologin, Mag. rer. nat.,
Department of Cell Growth and Cancer, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
Large-scale RNAi screen for polarized membrane trafficking in C. elegans
Julia Keller, Diplom-Biologin
Arbeitsgruppe molekulare Mechanismen des intrazellulären Transports, Max-Planck-Institut für molekulare Zellbiologie und Genetik, Dresden, Germany
HFE haemochromatosis – which cell types are the players?
Judit Kiss, Biologist, MSc
Abteilung Pädiatrische Onkologie, Hämatologie und Immunologie, Universitätsklinik für Kinder- und Jugendmedizin, Universität Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
Characterization of the chromosomal passenger complex
Ulf Klein, Molecular Biologist, MSc
Abteilung Zellbiologie, Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie, München, Germany
Insights into the splice site formation of group II intron ribozymes
Daniela Kruschel, Diplom-Chemikerin
Arbeitsgruppe Roland K.O. Sigel, Anorganisch-chemisches Institut, Universität Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
Molecular mechanisms of immunoglobulin light chain isotyope exclusion
Thomas Perlot, Biologe
Mag. rer. nat., The CBR Institute for Biomedical Research, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
Epigenetic reprogramming in the maternal germ line and during early embryonic development
Mareike Puschendorf, Biochemikerin, MSc
Abteilung Epigenetics, Friedrich-Miescher-Institut, Basel, Switzerland
The role of natural killer cells in Epstein-Barr virus infection
Till Strowig, Diplom-Ingenieur (Biotechnologie)
Laboratory of Viral Immunobiology, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA
Protein misfolding and disease
Henning Tidow, Diplom-Biochemiker
Department of Chemistry, Centre for Protein Engineering, Medical Research Council (MRC, Cambridge, UK)
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B.I.F. Internal