Emmy Noether and Heisenberg Programme: Six top researchers choose Freiburg
Freiburg, 27/02/2026
Out of a pool of 32 researchers who were accepted into two German Research Foundation funding programmes in the last quarter of 2025, six chose Freiburg as the location for implementing their funded projects. This shows that Freiburg is attractive to highly qualified researchers from a wide range of disciplines.
With the Emmy Noether and Heisenberg programmes, the German Research Foundation (DFG) supports researchers with excellent project proposals. The recipients decide for themselves at which institutions they will carry out their projects. Of a total of 32 researchers who were accepted into the programmes in the last quarter of 2025, six chose Freiburg as their location.
“I am very pleased that six of the 32 researchers newly accepted into the Emmy Noether and Heisenberg programmes have decided to carry out their projects in Freiburg. This underscores the high attractiveness of the University and the Medical Centre in Freiburg: with their interdisciplinary profile, powerful research infrastructure and international networks, they offer an excellent environment for outstanding researchers from a wide range of disciplines,” says Prof. Dr. Kerstin Krieglstein, Rector at the University of Freiburg.
Funded projects include medical, psychological and sociological research
The new Heisenberg scientists in Freiburg will be researching the following topics:
- PD Dr Denisa Butnaru She is researching “Ambivalent materialities: How human bodies navigate the tension between facts and artefacts in health and military spaces” at the University of Freiburg.
- PD Dr Niels Skovaard-Olsen is dedicated to the topic of “Advanced studies on conflicts of norms and the problem of arbitration” at the University of Freiburg.
The new researchers in the Emmy Noether Programme will address the following research questions in Freiburg:
- Dr Kevin Ciminski is researching the topic “MAC’n FLU: Decoding the interactions between macrophages and influenza A viruses, host cell responses and infection control” at the Medical Center – University of Freiburg.
- Dr Joshua David Frenster is dedicated to “Deciphering the mechanisms of cell competition in embryonic development using gastruloids, cancer-resistant species and human 3D models” at the University of Freiburg.
- Dr Julia Kolter is working at the Medical Center – University of Freiburg on “Decoding neuro-immune interactions and their functional significance in the skin.”
- Dr Ali Seleit is researching the “Genetics of embryonic development timing and size control in vertebrates” at the University of Freiburg.