New Collaborative Research Center for Freie Universität Berlin
Interdisciplinary Team to Explore New Ways to Treat Inflammatory Skin Diseases
№ 127/2013 from May 24, 2013
One of twelve new Collaborative Research Centers (CRC) that are being set up by the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) will be based at Freie Universität Berlin. The new CRC 1112 will focus on exploring new ways of treating inflammatory skin diseases by using drug-loaded nano-sized carrier systems, the so-called nanocarriers. The project title is "Nanocarriers: Architecture, Transport, and Targeted Administration of Active Agents for Therapeutic Applications." The participating partners are Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht in Teltow – Institut für Biomaterialforschung, and the University of Potsdam. The CRC is being funded by the DFG for three years and nine months. The spokesperson is Eckart Rühl, a professor of physical chemistry at Freie Universität Berlin.
For a successful topical, i.e., local, therapy, the absorption of drugs is significant. The research objective of the CRC is to efficiently concentrate these substances at the target location while simultaneously minimizing the side effects on the whole organism.
According to the DFG, CRCs facilitate scientifically ambitious, complex, long-term research by concentrating and coordinating the resources available at a university. It is expected that the CRC program should thus contribute toward defining the profiles of participating universities. Gender equality and early career support are additional goals of a Collaborative Research Center.
Further Information
Prof. Dr. Eckart Rühl, Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry (Physical and Theoretical Chemisty), Freie Universität Berlin, Tel.: +49 30 838-52396, Email: ruehl@zedat.fu-berlin.de