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Cluster of Excellence “Controlling Microbes to Fight Infections” (CMFI)

News

Can evolution run backwards? Nadine Ziemert as a guest on the American Chemical Society's Tiny Matters podcast
05.02.2025 Can evolution run backwards? Nadine Ziemert as a guest on the American Chemical Society's Tiny Matters podcast In the Media
Listeria in the gut: How our body cells fight infections with good communication and teamwork
04.02.2025 Listeria in the gut: How our body cells fight infections with good communication and teamwork CMFI News
Over 600 pupils in the CMFI school lab
03.02.2025 Over 600 pupils in the CMFI school lab CMFI News
Get to know CMFI's Graduate School IGIM
31.01.2025 Get to know CMFI's Graduate School IGIM CMFI News
Podcast "Inside CMFI: Potenziale der Mikrobiomforschung"
10.01.2025 Podcast "Inside CMFI: Potenziale der Mikrobiomforschung" In the Media
CMFI Nikolaus an Universität Tübingen
06.12.2024 CMFI Nikolaus an Universität Tübingen CMFI News

Events

What do single E. coli cells do when they lose nutrients?
27.02.2025 What do single E. coli cells do when they lose nutrients? 1:00 pm 2:00 pm CMFI Invited Speaker Prof. Dr. Erik van Nimwegen More
NCII: Novel concepts in innate immunity 2025
10.06.2025 – 13.06.2025 NCII: Novel concepts in innate immunity 2025 Conference More
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About the CMFI

The surfaces of the human body host colonies of microorganisms, known as microbiomes. Along with bacteria which have a positive effect on human health, microbiomes contain potentially life-threatening pathogens. In the past, broad-spectrum antibiotics have often been used to tackle them. Nowadays it is known that this not only promotes resistance to antibiotics – in many cases it also damages the microbiome as a whole. 

 

CMFI researchers aim to develop new strategies to control microbial mechanisms and fight infections.

The Cluster of Excellence CMFI brings together roughly 150 researchers from different disciplines such as infection biology, immunology, bioinformatics, pharmaceutical biology, antibiotics research, molecular and medical microbiology, biotechnology, environmental biology, systems biology, chemistry, and medical history and ethics. Their common goal is to elucidate the mechanisms of interaction between beneficial and harmful bacteria and the host in order to develop novel targeted therapeutic and anti-infective treatments.

The CMFI is one of 57 Clusters of Excellence funded by German federal and state governments as part of the Excellence Strategy to sustainably strengthen Germany as a center of science, improve its international competitiveness and make cutting-edge research at German universities visible. In addition to the University of Tübingen, the Max Planck Institute for Biology and the University Hospital Tübingen are involved in the CMFI.

More about the Research