The Institute of Molecular Biology

The Institute of Molecular Biology, University Hospital Essen, University of Duisburg-Essen, Essen, Germany, is interested in the biomedicine of sphingolipids. The Institute consists of the four independent, but very closely connected research groups.

We focus on the system sphingomyelin - sphingomyelinases - ceramide - ceramidases - sphingosine, which has an outstanding importance in many biological processes. We apply our insights to a wide range of biomedical problems and, thus, investigate the pathophysiology and development of novel treatments of bacterial pneumonia, tissue infections and sepsis, immune response to tumors, auto-immune disorders, major depressive disorder, homing of leukocytes and Farber disease.