Shape the Future of Research – Find Your Fit in Freiburg
The Freiburg Rising Stars Academy (FRSA) unites a diverse network of Host Principal Investigators and partner institutions from across disciplines. These collaborations form the foundation of FRSA’s commitment to advancing interdisciplinary research and fostering long-term academic partnerships. Through their expertise and resources, the Host PIs and institutions support innovative projects that address complex challenges in a variety of fields.
Explore our network of renowned partner institutions and choose the path that suits your research vision. Whether you apply directly to work with a specific Host Principal Investigator (Track 1) or propose a project aligned with a host institution’s thematic focus (Track 2), FRSA offers you the opportunity to build lasting academic connections and advance innovative research.
CIBSS
The Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies (CIBSS) explores how cells communicate and coordinate to sustain life in humans, animals, and plants. By studying how diverse signals are integrated with cellular processes like metabolism, CIBSS advances understanding of development, function, and adaptation across biological scales. Using cutting-edge technologies, including optogenetics and molecular engineering, CIBSS seeks groundbreaking solutions for global challenges in biomedicine and plant sciences.
Future Forests explores how climate change, species shifts, and human activity are transforming forests into novel ecosystems. By studying forests as interconnected social-ecological systems, the initiative aims to understand their future roles in providing vital services like climate regulation and biodiversity. Future Forests develops adaptive strategies to guide sustainable forest management in a rapidly changing world.
ACT – Africa Centre for Transregional Research at the University of Freiburg is a cross-faculty hub advancing interdisciplinary research and collaboration focused on Africa and transregional studies. Located at the Arnold Bergstraesser Institute, ACT fosters knowledge exchange between Africa and Europe, supports international cooperation, and promotes African scholarship in Germany. Through research, public dialogue, and academic mobility, ACT strengthens equitable global knowledge networks and contributes to shaping a more nuanced understanding of African realities.
BrainLinks-BrainTools unites life sciences, engineering, and clinical applications in Freiburg, thus anchoring neurotechnology as a research axis between three faculties of the University and various cooperation partners. These emerging opportunities for strong joint research and education between neuroscience and engineering deliver novel interdisciplinary results in an area highly relevant for society as a whole.
The Cluster Living, Adaptive and Energy-autonomous Materials Systems (livMatS)develops life-like material systems inspired by nature, combining technology and biology. These systems autonomously adapt to their environment, harvest clean energy, and resist or recover from damage. Focused on sustainability and societal acceptance, livMatS integrates expertise from energy research, biomimetics, engineering, psychology, and philosophy to create pioneering, future-ready materials.
If you choose Track 1, you will apply directly for collaboration with one of our Host Principle Investigators (Host-PI) who hail from a variety of partner institutions, such as Clusters of Excellence, collaborative research centres and research groups of all disciplines. Your prospective Host-PI should match your scientific background and share your research interests, as the FRSA seeks to advance long-term collaboration.
Dr. Elke Barbez
Molecular Plant Physiology – Institute of Biology
PI at #CIBSS
Areas of expertise Signalling processes in plants│Plant physiology │Plant genetics
Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology / Africa Centre for Transregional Research (ACT)
Areas of expertise Economic Anthropology (Work, Leisure, International Economic Relations, Cross-Border Trade) │ Political Anthropology (Borders, Statehood, State-Society Relations)
Areas of expertise Synthesis of complex polymers | Biomimetic polymers for applications in biomedicine | Self-assembly materials | Sustainable polymers
Department of Molecular Plant Physiology – Institute of Biology
PI at #CIBSS
Areas of expertise Molecular plant physiology | Light signaling in plants | Molecular mechanisms and evolution of phytochromes | Environmental signaling
Chair of Sensor-based Geoinformatics Faculty of Environment and Natural Resources
PI at #FutureForests
Areas of Expertise Multi-sensor & multi-temporal remote sensing across scales | Plant and Ecosystem Processes | Geospatial Data Science | Machine & Deep Learning | Radiative Transfer Modelling
Biomedical Microtechnology – Department of Microsystems Engineering Faculty of Engineering
Areas of expertise Neural implants │Neurotechnology │ Brain computer interfaces │Sensoty feedback after amputation │Ultrasound for the cardiovascular system
Biomedical Microtechnology – Department of Microsystems Engineering Faculty of Engineering
Areas of expertise Neural implants │Neurotechnology │ Brain computer interfaces │Sensoty feedback after amputation│Ultrasound for the cardiovascular system
Department of Microsystems Engineering – Faculty of Engineering
Areas of expertise Smart embedded sensors │Flexible sensors │Sensor materials │Energy harvesting for autonomous embedded sensors
Track 2: Open Applications
Some of our partner institutions offer Track 2, which is a topic-based application. Track 2 is ideal, if you are generally interested in the research areas the prospective Host Institutions represent and you would like to propose novel ideas and projects that extend on or are based on the work undertaken at the Host Institution. While not a perquisite, it is highly recommended that you indicate the researchers with whom you wish to work during your tenure as Rising Star.
To learn more about our partner institutions collaborating in Track 2, please check our application page.
