Outstanding success for TU Dresden researchers: In the latest German Research Foundation (DFG) funding round, the establishment of the Collaborative Research Center CRC/Transregio 408 "AgiMo: Data-driven agile planning for responsible mobility" at TU Dresden and TU Munich has now been approved. The joint application of the CRC/Transregio 412 "Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: Translating mechanisms to tailored therapeutic concepts" of Charité - FU and HU Berlin along with TU Dresden was also successful.

Collaborative Research Centers allow innovative, ambitious and long-term research projects to be carried out within a network and therefore bolster the development of priority areas and the necessary structures at the applicant universities; they are funded for a maximum of twelve years. Starting in October 2025, the DFG will fund a total of 262 research consortia.

Fatty liver research: New Collaborative Research Center at Charité and TU Dresden on non-alcoholic fatty liver disease

 

© Charité / MASLD

When too much fat is stored in liver cells, a so-called fatty liver develops - the most common chronic liver disease worldwide. Around a quarter of the total population is affected. A new transregional Collaborative Research Center (CRC/Transregio 412) at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Faculty of Medicine at TU Dresden is now focusing on fatty liver diseases that are not caused by alcohol consumption, but by metabolic disorders. The aim is to gain an even better understanding of the mechanisms behind the disease and to develop tailored therapies. The German Research Foundation (DFG) will fund the joint research initiative with around EUR 13 million for an initial period of four years.

As the population is tending to become older and more obese, a further increase in the metabolic dysfunction–associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD) is expected. The researchers are working together to develop an overall picture, from cell mechanism to therapy, in order to test innovative combination therapies in experimental models. In addition to a holistic understanding, the joint research initiative will focus on the prevention and treatment of MASLD before it can lead to life-threatening complications. 

“While drugs that target the underlying risk factors such as obesity and insulin resistance are somewhat effective, we still lack therapies that directly target the liver,” explains the speaker of the new CRC, Prof. Frank Tacke, Director of the Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology at Charité.

“The Dresden research groups are contributing their strengths in the areas of lipid analysis, genomic analysis and immunometabolism. They are investigating how lipid metabolism, cell programs and immune processes in the liver become unbalanced and how they drive the disease,” explains Prof. Jochen Hampe, deputy speaker of the new CRC, Director of the Department of Medicine and Polyclinic 1 at University Hospital Dresden and professor at the Faculty of Medicine at TUD. 

The Collaborative Research Center CRC/TR 412 “Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease: Translating mechanisms to tailored therapeutic concepts:” https://berlindresdennafld.org/

AgiMo: DFG funds new Collaborative Research Center on agile mobility

© AgiMo

The German Research Foundation (DFG) has approved funding for the Collaborative Research Center SFB/TRR 408 “AgiMo: Data-driven agile planning for responsible mobility” at TU Dresden and TU Munich. This is the first interdisciplinary research program in systemic transportation research.

The research program on data-driven agile planning for responsible mobility pursues an integrated approach on the mobility planning of the future. There are four objectives defined by the researchers: (1) A new set of consistent scientific mobility planning methods are to be developed, including behavioral data and models as well as methods for planning and managing transportation systems and mobility services. Different modes of transport, from walking to motorized traffic, are to be considered. (2) In addition, new modular metrics for responsible mobility are to be generated and integrated into future planning methods on the basis of the so-called “4F principles” (function, form, fairness and forever). (3) Furthermore, the researchers want to embed the new planning methods into the open data AgiMo Digital Twin that provides up-to-date network-wide assimilated mobility data and the models for generating this data with fast turnaround. (4) New participatory planning methods based on the technical outcomes from the AgiMo Digital Twin are to be developed to create future scenarios for responsible mobility that are technically well-grounded and at the same time represent stakeholder preferences.

For the first time, a multidisciplinary network of transport researchers from high-ranking research institutions is thus committing itself to mobility planning of the future in a coordindated programme funded by DFG. The applicant universities TU Dresden and TU Munich are the two largest academic centers for transportation research in Germany. Together with the partner institutions TU Berlin, TU Braunschweig and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), the consortium combines experience and innovative strength to realize this demanding and unique program.

Professor Regine Gerike, Dean of the Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences and spokesperson for the CRC, has an ambitious view on the research project: “The Collaborative Research Center is a milestone in mobility research. I am confident that we will significantly advance research into integrated mobility planning with this excellent research network.”

The DFG has approved funding of 12.7 million euros for the entire consortium for the four-year funding period.


Contact for media:

SFB/TRR 408 AgiMo
TUD Dresden University of Technology
„Friedrich List“ Faculty of Transport and Traffic Sciences
Dean and spokesperson for the CRC/TRR 408
Prof.ⁱⁿ Regine Gerike
E-Mail: 

SFB/TRR 412 MASLD
Prof. Frank Tacke
Director of the Department of Hepatology and Gastroenterology
Campus Charité Mitte and Charité Campus Virchow-Klinikum
Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 450 553 022
Email:

Prof. Jochen Hampe
TUD Faculty of Medicine
Director of the Medical Clinic and Policlinic 1 UKD
University Medicine Dresden
Tel.: +49 351 458 17570
Email: