On the way to becoming the world’s leading lipidomics centre

The new Indo-German Max Planck Center on Lipid Research

September 15, 2011

The second Max Planck Center in India was opened on 23 September 2011: the Indo-German Max Planck Center on Lipid Research. The Max Planck Institute for Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG) in Dresden and the National Centre of Biological Sciences (NCBS) in Bangalore are responsible for this project.

Benefits for both partners

Both the MPI-CBG and the NCBS are already world leaders in the area of biomembrane studies. With the new Center, the NCBS will have the opportunity to increase its own research in the cell biology area and the systematic analysis of lipids using quantitative lipidomics technology developed by the MPI-CBG.

The new Center also offers the Max Planck institutes the opportunity to establish a broad research platform to bring lipidomics from its current early stages to a highly developed level, so that it can play a key role in basic biological and medical research.

Intensive cell biology research in India also ensures the cultivation of well-educated Ph.D. scientists, who are urgently needed in Indian industry and science. Germany, on the other hand, can establish an “outpost” in a country that is modernising extremely quickly and that has many talented young people.

The Indo-German Max Planck Center on Lipid Research is the second Center that the Max Planck Society has established with the Indian Tata Institute of Fundamental Research. In January 2010, the Indo German Max Planck Center for Computer Science in Delhi was opened. Currently, nine Max Planck Centers are in the process of being established or are already established at eight locations around the world.

India is an important research partner for the Max Planck Society. In terms of the international exchange of young scientists, India has become one of the two biggest partner countries of the Max Planck Society. One in ten foreign doctoral students currently at Max Planck institutes comes from India. Many of them are engaged in research at an International Max Planck Research School (IMPRS). In addition, almost 50 project cooperation programmes exist between Max Planck institutes and research institutes in India. Other programmes, such as partner groups and Max Planck India Fellowships, are also evolving successfully.

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