Topics range from proton therapy and mobility rights to climate data for use in engineering / Approximately €82 million for first funding period

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is establishing 12 new Research Training Groups (RTGs) to further bolster the support offered to researchers in early career phases. This was decided by the responsible Grants Committee in Bonn. From October 2025 onwards, the new RTGs will receive a total of approximately €82 million over a period of five years. This means that due to the current tight budgetary situation, the groups will start six months later than usual. The total funding amount includes a programme allowance of 22 percent for indirect project costs. Among the new groups is one International Research Training Group (IRTG) with a cooperation partner in South Korea.

In addition to the 12 new groups, the Grants Committee agreed to extend the funding of another five Research Training Groups for an additional funding period. This relatively small number is due to the fact that some of the Research Training Groups approved at the end of 2019 had to postpone their start date due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Research Training Groups offer doctoral researchers the opportunity to complete their doctorates by following a structured research and training programme at a high level of subject-specific expertise. The DFG is currently providing funding for a total of 216 RTGs, including 29 IRTGs.

The 12 new Research Training Groups in detail

(in alphabetical order of host university, with information on the spokesperson as well as the other applicant universities and cooperation partners):

Proton therapy is a relatively new form of radiotherapy for treating tumours. The advantage of protons over conventional radiation with electrons or gamma radiation is that the effect of the proton beam is particularly strongly localised and the tumour can therefore be irradiated more precisely – thereby ensuring better protection of healthy tissue and surrounding organs. The RTG AMTEC-PRO – Advanced Methods and Technologies for Proton Therapy aims to use new approaches to make proton therapy more precise, low-impact and widely applicable so that more patients can benefit from this therapy in the future. (TU Dortmund, Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Kevin Kröninger; also applying: University of Duisburg-Essen)

Migration is currently a topic of global importance that is closely linked to the concept of “crisis” in several respects. In addition to crises as a cause of migratory movements and the fact that the Western world has been said to be facing a “‘crisis of control”, migration is increasingly being framed as such a crisis itself. In this context, the RTG Mobility rights in the global context of multiple crises interlinks legal research and research into migration. The main question it addresses is how migrants’ rights are currently being challenged, claimed and redefined. (University of Göttingen, Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Sabine Hess)

Cancers that affect the gastrointestinal tract are usually difficult to treat. One of the reasons for this is that resistance to therapies often develops. In order to change this in the long term, it is important to gain a better understanding of the underlying adaptation processes of tumour cells and their environment. This is the goal of the RTG Understanding and Exploiting Adaptation to Therapy in Gastrointestinal Cancer. The focus is on four types of cancer: bowel cancer, liver cancer, pancreatic cancer and gallbladder or bile duct carcinoma. (University of Göttingen, Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Elisabeth Heßmann; also applying: Hannover Medical School)

Advances in computer technology in recent years have enabled new generations of Earth system models to be created that provide detailed and precise local information on the effects of global warming. Engineers can use this climate data in various fields to develop technical solutions to tackle future challenges. In many cases, the climate crisis calls for entirely new approaches to engineering. The RTG Climate-informed Engineering will explore how this transfer can be achieved. (TU Hamburg, Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Nima Shokri)

Plastics of various types are an indispensable part of everyday life. Chemically speaking, they are made up of long molecular chains, or polymers. Various methods are used to gain a better understanding of the latter, but very few have come from the fields of computer science and robotics to date. This is the point of departure of the RTG COIN – Copolymer Informatics: Copolymer Informatics: Blending digital technologies and copolymer chemistry from design to application. The aim is to apply methods from computer science and robotics more closely to polymer science, thereby developing polymers for new materials and substances in a more targeted and efficient way. (University of Jena, Professor Dr. Ulrich S. Schubert; also applying: University of Bayreuth)

Due to their biocompatibility, so-called hydrogels are as important in biomedicine as they are in the agricultural sector and plastic surgery. But for reasons of sustainability, it would make sense to replace the synthetic polymers used in these areas with biopolymers from land plants and algae. However, the variability of such biopolymers gives rise to different gel properties. This is the starting point of the RTG Sustainable hydrogels: From chemical structures to applicability – taking the entire life cycle of sustainable hydrogels into account from formation to ageing. (Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Mirko Bunzel)

Membrane proteins play a crucial role in the functioning of cells and tissues. If they are misdirected, this can result in diseases such as neurodegeneration, cancer, infections and inflammations. The RTG Regulation of Membrane Proteins (RTG-ReMPro) aims to get to the bottom of this regulation and, in doing so, will primarily investigate so-called post-translational modifications of membrane proteins. This refers to the fact that proteins are modified by added (and sometimes removed) molecules after their formation in the cell. The aim is to gain a better understanding of these fundamental processes. (University of Kiel, Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Christoph Becker-Pauly)

Lung cancer is one of the leading causes of cancer deaths worldwide. This is not least because resistance can occur during lung cancer therapy and the underlying mechanisms involved here are not yet sufficiently understood. Together with partners from South Korea, the IRTG Tumour Heterogeneity and Genomic Instability in Lung Cancer – From Basic Mechanisms to Clinical Implications aims to investigate this therapy resistance, combining aspects of both basic research and clinical practice. The focus is on the geographical areas of Europe and East Asia, whose inhabitants differ in their cancer genomes due to their ethnicity. The aim is to acquire fresh insights into these differences by comparing samples. (University of Cologne, Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Reinhard Büttner; cooperation partner: Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea)

Information processing in the nervous system is based on communication between neurons and their partner cells. While the pathways involved differ considerably, they do have one thing in common: they are adaptable. This makes it possible to control the transmission of signals in response to changing physiological demands, for example. The RTG Molecular tuning of neuronal communication – NeuroTune aims to explore general structural and functional principles as well as molecular adaptations that are specific to certain cell types or signalling pathways. (Leipzig University, Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Robert J. Kittel)

How do physical or other systems that are modelled at the smallest level by random processes behave at a very large level? This mathematical question is relevant to many fields of application, for example in statistical mechanics, where systems with an extremely large number of particles can only be described accurately based on a handful of observed quantities such as temperature. One of the aims of the RTG Rigorous Analysis of Complex Random Systems is to study systems from the field of materials science. Another example from the same mathematical context is the behaviour of training algorithms in machine learning. Understanding such complicated random phenomena with mathematical rigour poses a challenge to probability theory – and this is the aim of the RTG. (University of Münster, Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Martin Huesmann)

Covalent bonds are a core concept in the natural sciences – these are atomic bonds that are formed when at least two atoms share their outer electrons. Finding out more about this can be important both in terms of the fundamentals of molecular chemistry and also in terms of applications in the field of materials science. For example, a better understanding of weakly interacting or even unpaired electrons promises new possibilities in optoelectronics. The aim of the RTG Engineering covalent bonds in molecules and materials is to investigate and deliberately modify such compounds. This will involve various research steps: the synthesis of molecules, the control of physical and chemical properties, theoretical modelling, and finally the introduction of the bonds into new materials. (University of Saarbrücken, Spokesperson: Professor Dr. David Scheschkewitz)

How do cells react to external signals and transmit the information into the cell interior? How do environmental influences affect cell properties and the activity of genes? These questions are the focus of the RTG EpiSignal – Crosstalk of intracellular signaling pathways and chromatin modification networks. The researchers will seek to understand how the two processes mentioned in the title are related and how they influence each other – little is known about this as yet. In doing so, they will be focusing on two specific signalling pathways that play a role in such processes as inflammation, wound healing and cancer. The group will involve close collaboration between researchers in the fields of biochemistry, biotechnology, mathematics and computer science. (University of Stuttgart, Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Albert Jeltsch)

The five RTGs with their funding extended for an additional period

(in alphabetical order of host university, with information on the spokesperson as well as the other applicant universities and cooperation partners, and with references to the project descriptions in the DFG’s online database GEPRIS):

• RTG Empires: dynamic transformation, temporality and post-imperial orders (University of Freiburg, Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Sitta von Reden), https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/416530946
• RTG Collective Decision-Making (University of Hamburg, Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Anke Gerber), https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/401375414
• RTG Biota-mediated effects on Carbon cycling in Estuaries (BiCEst) (University of Hamburg, Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Kai Jensen), https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/407270017
• RTG Dynamic regulation of cellular protein localization (University of Cologne, Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Jan Riemer) , https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/411422114
• RTG Control of structure formation in soft matter at and through interfaces (University of Mainz, Spokesperson: Professor Dr. Pol Besenius), https://gepris.dfg.de/gepris/projekt/405552959

Further Information

Further information is also available from the RTG spokespersons.

More detailed information on the funding programme and the Research Training Groups to be awarded funding can be found here:

• www.dfg.de/gk/en