KMC: New Center for Microbiome Research in Kiel
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© Sebastian Weimar / KMC; The new Kiel Microbiome Center (KMC) aims to advance microbiome research in Kiel and brings together scientists from Kiel University, UKSH and other partner institutions.
Kiel University is establishing a new research center: The Kiel Microbiome Center (KMC) is gaining momentum this week with a four day-inaugural event co-organized by the two KMC co-speakers Professor Mathilde Poyet from the Institute of Experimental Medicine (IEM) and Prof Mathieu Groussin from the Institute of Clinical Molecular Biology (IKMB), both at Kiel University’s Medical Faculty, and Prof David Ellinghaus also from the IKMB. The new network is an integral part of Kiel University’s priority research area Kiel Life Science (KLS) and brings together the university’s strong community of microbiome researchers. By fostering collaboration and leveraging synergies, the KMC seeks to advance microbiome research and enhance scientific innovation at Kiel.
Life science researchers at Kiel University have been working intensively on understanding why and how microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi establish long-term associations with multicellular host organisms and what functional consequences these interactions have on host biology. There is a growing scientific consensus that the collective community of these microorganisms—known as the microbiome—plays a critical role in maintaining the health of human, animal and plant metaorganisms.
Kiel microbiome researchers join forces
At Kiel University, researchers across various institutes, faculties, and research consortia have been intensively studying this topic for years as part of the Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1182 “Origin and Function of Metaorganisms”. The newly established KMC now serves as a dynamic hub, uniting these scientists and providing them a shared organizational structure. “Together, we aim to expand our understanding of the microbiome and drive translational innovation. This means leveraging our growing insights into host-microorganism interactions to promote the health of humans, animals, plants, and the environment,” emphasizes Poyet.
Kiel researchers from the Faculties of Medicine, Mathematics and Natural Sciences and Agriculture and Nutritional Sciences are participating in the KMC. The Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön (MPI-EB) is also taking part. Furthermore, the newly founded center thematically links various research consortia at Kiel University and the University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH), including the Cluster of Excellence “Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation (PMI)”, the CRC 1182 and the DFG Research Group 5042 “miTarget”. Last but not least, the foundation of the KMC also marks the finalization of the transition of the Global Microbiome Conservancy (GMbC) to Kiel University and UKSH. The GMbC is an international initiative co-founded by Poyet and Groussin at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) whose aim is to understand and preserve global microbial diversity.
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