Communicating in the Molecular Language of Life
From a mechanistic understanding of biological signals and decisions
to innovative solutions for human health and food security
How do the trillions of cells in our body coordinate their actions to keep us alive and healthy?
This is achieved through a marvel of communication involving constant and tightly controlled exchange of biological signals both within and between cells. These signals carry information that shapes how cells behave, interact, and respond to their surroundings, enabling organisms to adapt to their environment. Integration of diverse signals is fundamental to the biological decisions that are made across vast biological scales — from molecules to whole organisms — and act as control switches in health and disease. At CIBSS – the Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies – researchers are united behind the common vision of understanding and communicating in the molecular language of life. We seek to elucidate how biological signals are integrated and how biological decisions are made and controlled in health and disease.
The researchers of the Cluster of Excellence CIBSS – Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies (CIBSS) at the University of Freiburg are dedicated to understanding the language that determines multicellular life in humans, animals and plants. CIBSS brings together more than 70 research groups from six faculties of the University of Freiburg, the Freiburg University Medical Centre and the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics in cooperative and interdisciplinary research projects. The Cluster of Excellence CIBSS is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) since 2019 as part of the Excellence Strategy competition of the federal and state governments. In January 2026, CIBSS has entered a second seven-year funding phase.
The participating research groups integrate knowledge from across more than ten disciplines, ranging from cell and developmental biology, genetics, biochemistry, structural biology, molecular and synthetic biology, immunology, and plant sciences to bioinformatics, ethics, and law. The research programme builds on the collaborative interdisciplinary spirit and commitment of the CIBSS research community in advancing integrative biological signalling studies.
CIBSS’s fundamental signalling research provides the basis for identifying the causes of disease, developing new treatments and opening up opportunities to make agriculture more robust and sustainable. It thus provides approaches for tackling global challenges in the areas of health, agriculture and food security.
This research programme is bolstered and complemented by extensive measures to support early career researchers, foster international research collaboration and enhance science communication.
Participating faculties
Speaker team
Prof. Dr. Sonja-Verena Albers
Prof. Dr. Sonja-Verena Albers is Professor of Molecular Biology at the Institute of Biology II at the Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg.
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Kleine-Vehn
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Kleine-Vehn is Professor of Molecular Plant Physiology at the Institute of Biology II at the Faculty of Biology, University of Freiburg.
Prof. Dr. Claudine Kraft
Prof. Dr. Claudine Kraft is Professor of Biochemistry at the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Faculty of Medicine, University of Freiburg.
The CIBSS Community
