Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME

Welcome to the Fraunhofer IME. We conduct research in the field of applied life sciences from a molecular level to entire ecosystems and are your partner for contract research in the areas of pharmacy, medicine, chemistry, agriculture, as well as environmental and consumer protection. Our research and development portfolio is focused on industry, small and medium enterprises and on the public sector.

The overarching goal of our research activities at Fraunhofer IME is the development and use of novel technologies for diagnosis and therapy of human and animal diseases as well as the protection of crop plants and food sources.

For his presentation „Screening insecticides for molecular fingerprints in zebrafish embryos as an aquatic non-target model - a kick off study“ Hannes Reinwald was awarded the young academics award 2019 at this year’s SETAC GLB conference in Landau. His contribution received the first place for the best presentation. Hannes Reinwald performs his PhD studies on the identification of molecular signatures of pesticides in aquatic non-target organisms in the Attract group Eco’n’OMICs at Fraunhofer IME in Schmallenberg.

New Partnership will advance three antibacterial programmes as part of the Innovative Medicines Initiative (IMI), a public-private European R&D consortium. The new GNA NOW project, led by Evotec SE and managed by Lygature, will work on the development of novel antibacterial agents to battle antimicrobial resistance in gram-negative bacteria. Fraunhofer IME is one of the 11 beneficiaries.

One year after the controversial decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) on the regulation of crop plants developed by new molecular breeding techniques, scientists are once again taking the floor. Undersigners from more than 120 European plant and life science research centres, including Fraunhofer IME, address the open statement to the newly elected European Parliament and the European Commission. The aim is to secure the potential of new molecular breeding techniques for sustainable agriculture and food production.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME coordinates the research project RESET-ME, selected for funding by the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR). In this project, together with partners from Germany, Latvia, Finland, and Italy, adjuvants for antimicrobial therapies are developed targeting an intrinsic resistance mechanism in Gram-negative bacteria.                       

TRANSVAC is a collaborative infrastructure project funded by the European Commission and has set up training modules at leading European centres, three modules take place at Fraunhofer IME.

• Assay Development and Validation-Application of SPR Technologies in Vaccine development and manufacturing, 10-11 October 2019
  
• Process Development and scale-up of recombinant protein vaccines, 7-8 October 2019
  
• Requirements for GMP production, 14-15 October 2019

Safe diagnoses of diseases, identification of multidrug-resistant germs or detection of toxins and pathogens in drinking water and food in even the lowest concentrations – these are major challenges and goals of current research programs. One of the most promising tools for these tasks are novel and considerably improved biosensors. The project “BioSensing” of the Fraunhofer Institutes ISC and IME and the Leiden University, Institute of Physics aims to overcome the limits of modern biosensors with the help of quantum technology.

The Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology IME participates in the EU-funded ENDOSCAPE project a research and innovation action that develops a novel gene delivery technology. ENDOSCAPE is a 6.8 M€ H2020 EU project coordinated by scientists at the Charité in Berlin with participation of 12 industrial and academic partners from 7 European countries.