EXC 2145:  Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy)

• Subject Area: Neurosciences ; Medicine
• Term: since 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 390857198

SyNergy—the Munich Cluster of Systems Neurology—defined Systems Neurology as a new research field where systems-level biology and systems neuroscience meet clinical neurology. Backed by the two Munich Excellence universities and five Helmholtz and Max Planck institutes, this long-term program has yielded remarkable insights and established permanent infrastructure. To date, SyNergy has: revealed numerous new disease-spanning pathomechanisms, including potential leverage points for improved diagnosis and treatment of major degenerative, inflammatory, and vascular CNS diseases, several of which are in transit to clinical exploration; supported >25 Tandem Projects and published >600 papers in high-impact journals, resulting in a leadership role of Munich neuroscience in Alzheimer’s disease, multiple sclerosis, and stroke research; recruited and promoted rising star scientists, allowing us to rejuvenate and diversify the principal investigator team while filling gaps in our research portfolio and increasing measures of excellence (e.g., >25 ERC grants); built two trans-institutional and translational SyNergy Research Centers to integrate the Cluster’s basic and clinical research, readying us for an additional translational push; established Technology Hubs to provide broad access to cutting-edge omics and imaging expertise; expanded support for early career investigators and clinician-scientists, promoted gender equality and diversity and established key research data management infrastructure, in co-operation with our partner institutions. In the next funding period, SyNergy will: boost our capacity to understand, diagnose, and treat major CNS diseases by adding new technologies, expertise, and concepts related to disease-spanning mechanisms; continue funding Tandem Projects to integrate new concepts and researchers while also developing established collaborations into larger Teams dedicated to key Research Topics centered on disease-spanning principles to accelerate target transition; broaden our capabilities to perform Cluster-initiated proof-of-concept studies in humans via new clinical trials units at the SyNergy Research Centers in collaboration with the “M1–Munich Medicine Alliance”, a new initiative by the Bavarian state to extend the trans-institutional integration pioneered by SyNergy to Munich’s entire university medicine; initiate new professorships focused on neuroepigenetics, systems neuroscience, and high-hesolution imaging while also contributing to other relevant recruitments; expand our Technology Hubs to add dedicated support for disease-spanning data integration, AI expertise, and target transition towards the clinic; evolve and grow our support programs by creating a unified M.Sc. and Ph.D. training track, expanding mentoring, integrating medical-scientist, clinician-scientist, and clinician-trialist training, and joining an international postdoc network funded by the NOMIS foundation.

• DFG Programme: Clusters of Excellence (ExStra)
• Applicant Institution: Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
• Co-Applicant Institution: Technische Universität München (TUM)
• Participating Institution: Helmholtz Zentrum München; Deutsches Forschungszentrum für Gesundheit und Umwelt; Max-Planck-Institut für Biochemie (MPIB); Max-Planck-Institut für Psychiatrie; Max-Planck-Institut für biologische Intelligenz; Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE) ; Standort München
• Spokespersons: Professor Dr. Martin Dichgans; Professorin Dr. Magdalena Götz; Professor Dr. Thomas Misgeld
• Participating Researchers: Professorin Florence Bareyre, Ph.D.; Professorin Dr. Lena Burbulla; Professorin Dr. Laura Busse; Professorin Silvia Cappello, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Dieter Edbauer; Professor Dr. Ali Ertürk; Professorin Dr. Cristina Garcia-Caceres, Ph.D.; Professorin Julijana Gjorgjieva, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Christian Haass; Professorin Dr. Angelika Harbauer; Professor Dr. Bernhard Hemmer; Professor Dr. Günter Höglinger; Professor Dr. Martin Kerschensteiner; Professor Dr. Thomas Korn; Professor Dr. Arthur Liesz; Professor Jonas Neher, Ph.D.; Professorin Fabiana Perocchi, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Simon T. Schäfer; Professor Dr. Mikael Jakob Simons; Professor Dr. Fabian Theis; Professorin Anna-Sophia Wahl, Ph.D.; Professorin Dr. Juliane Winkelmann