EXC 2145:  Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy)

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

SyNergy defined Systems Neurology as a new research field where systems-level biology and systems neuroscience meet clinical neurology to generate an integrative understanding of how neurological diseases emerge from the interplay of degenerative, immune and vascular mechanisms. In this continuation application after 5 years of funding, we now reapply as a joint initiative of the two Munich Excellence Universities, LMU and TUM.- initiated disease-spanning Tandem Projects, documented in >230 high impact papers (IF>10) and an >80% increase in joint LMU/TUM publications by Cluster members.- recruited exceptional rising-star scientists to fill gaps in its research portfolio and complement a team of Cluster PIs with comprehensive expertise in basic, pathomechanistic and clinical neurosciences (including 13 ERC grant awardees).- was instrumental in setting up the Center for Stroke and Dementia Research (CSD), which integrates research and clinics and houses 10 SyNergy labs from both universities.- implemented a clinician-scientists program – two alumni have by now secured prestigious DFG Emmy-Noether fellowships and now join the Cluster as PIs.- established new programs to educate and support young investigators from high school to post-doc level and promoted gender equality by providing mentoring, family and networking support for female researchers and parent-scientists.during the second funding period, SyNergy will:- complement its disease-spanning Pathomechanistic Tandem Projects with new Translational Tandem Projects that put clinical hypotheses emerging from SyNergy research to a rigorous test with obligatory contribution from basic and clinical scientists.- install a comprehensive range of Technology Hubs to broaden access to key methodological advances and expedite the transfer of new results from bench to bedside.- recruit three Pathomechanistic Professorships to incorporate emerging research concepts and two Translational Professorships for clinician-scientists to lastingly embed basic science expertise in clinical departments and vice versa.- complement the CSD with a similarly spirited Center for Multiple Sclerosis andNeuroscience that integrates basic and clinical neuroinflammation research.- continue our support for clinician-scientists and implement pilot programs on researchoriented teaching for preclinical medical students and undergraduate medical scientists.- enrich support programs for early career researchers and diversity, e.g. with additionalsupport for early independence and opportunities for international exchange, e.g. via a new SyNergy-Washington University partnership.

• 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 Neurobiologie (MPIN) (aufgelöst); Max-Planck-Institut für Psychiatrie; Deutsches Zentrum für Neurodegenerative Erkrankungen (DZNE) ; Standort München
• Spokespersons: Professor Dr. Christian Haass; Professor Dr. Thomas Misgeld
• Participating Researchers: Professor Dr. Christian Behrends, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Martin Dichgans; Professorin Dr. Marianne Dieterich; Professorin Dr. Dorothee Dormann; Professor Dr. Dieter Edbauer; Professor Dr. Benedikt Grothe; Professorin Dr. Magdalena Götz; Professor Dr. Franz-Ulrich Hartl; Professor Dr. Bernhard Hemmer; Professor Dr. Jochen W. Herms; Professor Dr. Martin Kerschensteiner; Professor Dr. Arthur Konnerth; Professor Dr. Thomas Korn; Professor Dr. Stefan Lichtenthaler; Professorin Dr. Sabine Liebscher; Professor Dr. Arthur Liesz; Professor Dr. Dominik Paquet; Professorin Dr. Fabiana Perocchi, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Mikael Jakob Simons; Professorin Dr. Barbara Treutlein; Professor Dr. Matthias Tschöp; Professor Dr. Christian Weber; Professorin Dr. Juliane Winkelmann