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Prospects for the 2nd funding period SPP 1356/2

DFG priority programm SPP 1356: Pluripotency and Cellular Reprogramming

In 2007 the DFG established a new Research Priority Programme (Schwerpunktprogramm) entitled: Pluripotency and Cellular Reprogramming. The second and last funding period will start in April 2011.

The research field of pluripotency and cellular reprogramming is one of the most challenging and promising research fields in biomedicine. This is highlighted by the recent progress in direct reprogramming of somatic cells into pluripotent cells. However, the molecular pathways controlling pluripotency and reprogramming remain incompletely understood. A thorough understanding of these mechanisms is essential for the development of effective and rational approaches to induce reprogramming towards the pluripotent state.

The following questions are at the core of the SPP 1356:

· Which molecular processes are crucial for the establishment and maintenance of natural pluripotency?

· What defines the exit from pluripotency?

· What crosstalk and interdependence exist between genotype and epigenotype?

· What determines the global and local chromatin organization in pluripotent cells?

· What are the molecular and epigenetic mechanisms leading to induced pluripotency?

· What is the interrelation of regulatory processes that generate pluripotent cells in mammals versus non-mammals?

Projects should address the analysis of pluripotency at the functional level, the epigenome of pluripotent cells and/or basic mechanisms of pluripotency and reprogramming.

The following topics are not covered by this Schwerpunktprogramm: developmental patterning and differentiation, organ and tissue regeneration, stem cell therapy, somatic stem cell biology, reproduction biology and tumour biology.

Contact address for further information:

Coordinator: Prof. Dr. Albrecht Müller, Institut für Medizinische Strahlenkunde und Zellforschung (MSZ) im Zentrum für Experimentelle Molekulare Medizin (ZEMM), Zinklesweg 10, 97078 Würzburg, Germany

Tel.: +49 (0)931 201 45848, e-Mail: albrecht.mueller@mail.uni-wuerzburg.de

DFG contact office: Dr. Tobias Grimm, Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG)-Lebenswissenschaften 1, D-53170 Bonn, Germany

Tel. +49 (0)228 885-2325, e-mail: tobias.grimm@dfg.de

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