News from the Institute

As announced today, the PROXIDRUGS consortium led by IBC2 Director Ivan Đikić has been selected for funding within the Clusters4Future initiative of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), which aims at promoting regional innovation networks for the benefit of economy and society. PROXIDRUGS will be funded with up to 15 M € for the next three years, as only one of 7 clusters selected for funding from a total of 137 applications

As announced today, scientists from Goethe University Frankfurt were successful in securing funding for the ENABLE cluster project which aims at identifying disease-relevant key targets and enabling innovative therapeutic strategies. For the next four years, the project will be supported with 8 M€ by the State of Hesse as part of the cluster initiative to prepare for the next round of the federal Excellence Strategy. The ENABLE research program is centered around inflammation, infection and cellular homeostasis, which are all impacting on a broad range of diseases, many of them with high unmet medical need. It relies on innovative technologies and close team work between basic and translational research. 

IBC2 research fellow Heike Angerer found a key role of accessory subunit LYRM6/NDUFA6 in energy conversion by eukaryotic respiratory complex I. These results have been recently published in Nature Communications.
In an integrated approach combining biochemistry, structural biology and multiscale molecular simulations, researchers from IBC2 and from the group of Vivek Sharma at the Department of Physics, University of Helsinki, found that specific interactions of LYRM6/NDUFA6 with core subunits are indispensable for the function of mitochondrial complex I. 

Throughout Europe, the COVID-19 pandemic has taken its toll, with devastating infection and death rates, economic crisis, psychologic consequences of isolation and existential anxiety. Governments throughout Europe are struggling to develop sustainable strategies for crisis management, leave alone coming towards a common European approach. Scientists throughout Europe have now signed a petition to urge European governments to agree on clear goals, define common actions and coordinate their efforts in fighting the pandemic.

For the third year in a row, IBC2 Director Ivan Đikić is recognized as one of the pioneers in his field on Clarivate’s Highly Cited Researchers list. His papers rank in the top 1% by citations in the field of “Molecular Biology & Genetics”. In previous years, he was honored for his exceptional performance in the “Molecular Biology & Genetics” and the “Cross-Field” sections.