Goethe-Universität — Press releases

Goethe University PR & Communication Department

Oct 31 2025

11:36

“Identification of membrane targets for lipid species containing esterified EETs (ELS)” – New Koselleck Project at Goethe University Frankfurt explores unresolved research question

The Role of Lipids in Cardiovascular Diseases

Lipids are not just energy sources and structural components of cell membranes – they also act as molecules that transmit signals within and between cells. A new Koselleck Project at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry at Goethe University Frankfurt and the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research focuses on certain products derived from arachidonic acid. These products exhibit beneficial effects in cardiovascular diseases as well as in Alzheimer's dementia and chronic pain.

FRANKFURT. Some products of arachidonic acid have already been well studied: the prostanoids formed by cyclooxygenases are central mediators of inflammation, fever, and pain. Their synthesis is inhibited by drugs such as acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin). Likewise, the effects and mechanisms of leukotrienes, which are formed by lipoxygenases from arachidonic acid and serve as targets for asthma medications, are well known.

Less well understood, however, is a third group of lipids – the epoxyeicosatrienoic acids (EETs), which are produced from arachidonic acid by cytochrome P450 epoxygenases. It has been known for almost 40 years that EETs can trigger a range of beneficial biological effects: they lower blood pressure, have anti-inflammatory properties, and are neuroprotective. Yet even after decades of intensive research, the molecular pathways through which these effects are mediated remain unclear. As a result, no pharmacological targets are currently known that could be used to mimic the therapeutic potential of EETs.

A new research project funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) under its Koselleck Program – led by Prof. Eugen Proschak and Prof. Stefan Offermanns – aims to shed light on this question through novel experimental approaches. Evidence suggests that cell membrane receptors may be involved, which could be activated either directly by EETs or after their incorporation into membrane lipids. The project, titled “Identification of membrane targets for lipid species containing esterified EETs (ELS)", will systematically search for transmembrane proteins that bind to EETs and mediate their effects. In addition, the researchers will test the hypothesis that EETs act not as free lipids but in a more complex form – that is, after being integrated into more complex membrane lipids.

“We know these effects exist, but we still don't understand how they come about. Yet to develop an entirely new class of drugs, we urgently need this basic knowledge," explains Prof. Eugen Proschak. A particular focus will be on endothelial cells – structures of the vascular system – and thus on diseases of the cardiovascular system.

The project brings together two research groups with complementary expertise: Prof. Proschak's group at the Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, specializing in medicinal chemistry and the synthesis of pharmacological tools, and Prof. Offermanns' group at the Institute of Molecular Medicine, which uses classical and molecular pharmacological methods both in vitro and in vivo. Prof. Offermanns is also Director of the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research in Bad Nauheim.

Divided into four subprojects, the research combines chemical, pharmacological, and proteomic approaches – the latter encompassing the entirety of proteins present in a cell. With this innovative concept, the researchers hope to uncover the molecular mechanisms through which EETs exert their biological effects. A total of €1.25 million is available for this work until 2030.

Established in 2008, the Koselleck Program is named after Reinhart Koselleck (1923–2006), one of Germany's most important 20th-century historians and a co-founder of modern social history. Koselleck projects are awarded to “researchers distinguished by outstanding scientific achievements." Funding is reserved for particularly innovative and high-risk research approaches.

The project by Eugen Proschak and Stefan Offermanns exemplifies these criteria in an exceptional way: until now, all attempts to elucidate EETs' mechanism of action have failed. If this endeavor succeeds, the resulting insights could be groundbreaking – not least for the potential development of entirely new classes of drugs that specifically mimic the beneficial effects of EETs.

Further Information
Prof. Dr. Eugen Proschak
Institute of Pharmaceutical Chemistry / Faculty of Biochemistry, Chemistry and Pharmacy
Goethe University Frankfurt
proschak@pharmchem.uni-frankfurt.de

Prof. Dr. Stefan Offermanns
Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research
stefan.offermanns@mpi-bn.mpg.de

Oct 30 2025

11:15

Frobenius Institute Research Award goes to Maren Jordan

Why fewer children are being born in Oman

Each year, the Frobenius Institute presents the Frobenius Research Award for outstanding ethnological dissertations in German-speaking countries. This year, the €3,000 prize was awarded to Maren Jordan for her dissertation “Temporalities of Reproduction: Fertility Transformations across Generations in the Sultanate of Oman."

FRANKFURT. Maren Jordan studied ethnology and Islamic studies at the University of Hamburg. After completing her master's degree, she worked in teaching. Her doctoral thesis was written as part of the German Research Foundation (DFG)-funded project “Fertility Transformation in the Sultanate of Oman," under the supervision of Prof. Julia Pauli and Prof. Laila Prager. Since 2022, she has served as academic coordinator for the Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1475 “Metaphors of Religion: Religious Meaning-Making in Language Use" at the Center for Religious Studies (CERES) at the University of Bochum.

Between 2016 and 2017, Jordan conducted twelve months of ethnographic research in the central Omani oasis town of al-Hamra. Her work focused on a demographic development observed in Oman since the 1970s: the significant decline in birth rates, often referred to as a “reproductive revolution." Jordan's research challenges the assessment that this phenomenon constitutes a revolution tied to notions of a new “modernity." Instead, she examines changing marriage practices, gender roles, and shifting norms and values surrounding birth control and family planning, offering a nuanced perspective. Her study spans several generations, from the 1970s to the present, and is based on 70 systematically collected birth and marriage histories of women, extensive interview material, as well as supplementary quantitative data and source analyses.

According to the Frobenius Institute, the dissertation impressively demonstrates how ethnology can engage productively with other disciplines. It builds a bridge to demography while maintaining its ethnological identity, the Institute said, adding that by using quantitative data to deepen qualitative findings – and ethnographic depth to interpret statistical trends — the work is highly relevant not only to ethnology but also to sociology, demography, and gender studies.

Further Information
Frobenius Institute for Research in Cultural Anthropology
Apl. Prof. Dr. Susanne Fehlings
fehlings@uni-frankfurt.de
www.frobenius-institut.de/en

Oct 17 2025

06:34

With its launch at Goethe University Frankfurt, Germany joins Instruct-ERIC to make cutting-edge technologies freely available to researchers across Europe.

Instruct-DE Strengthens Europe’s Structural Biology Research Infrastructure

FRANKFURT. Today, October 17, 2025, the German Instruct Center Instruct-DE officially begins its work at Goethe University. Instruct-ERIC (European Research Infrastructure Consortium) is a pan-European distributed research infrastructure specialized in high-end technologies and methods in structural biology, which is recognized by the European Union. The consortium’s goal is to make cutting-edge technologies and methods from 17 partner countries accessible to researchers across Europe. Following a multi-year exploratory process, Germany was accepted as a partner country in Instruct-ERIC in 2024. In addition to providing German researchers with access to technologies in European partner countries, it also opens access to excellent German infrastructures for researchers from all over Europe.

The new German center is organized in a decentral manner and coordinated by Goethe University Frankfurt. Partner institutions include Helmholtz Munich, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin, DESY Hamburg, Hamburg-based European XFEL, University of Hamburg’s Center for Structural Systems Biology (CSSB), and Forschungszentrum Jülich. Instruct-DE also has four other institutions joining as national associated partners: Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) Braunschweig, University of Bayreuth, Leibniz-Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie (FMP) Berlin, and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.

With the establishment of Instruct-DE, Germany’s advanced technologies become part of the freely accessible European Instruct Technology Catalog, which researchers from all partner countries can use at no cost, as explained by its spokesperson, Prof. Dr. Clemens Glaubitz. “The previously highly successful mutual use of research infrastructures is taking a decisive leap forward with Germany’s participation through Instruct-DE,” emphasizes Prof. Dr. Harald Schwalbe, Director of Instruct-ERIC, adding that, “Structural biology in Germany is conducted at the highest level. Instruct-DE not only strengthens European research but also opens up new opportunities for German researchers to engage in European collaborations.”

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Clemens Glaubitz
Instruct-DE Spokesperson
Institute of Biophysical Chemistry
Goethe University Frankfurt
Tel. +49 (0)69 798 29927
E-Mail: glaubitz@em.uni-frankfurt.de

Oct 13 2025

13:09

Global Tipping Points Report 2025 shows: It will take immense effort now to prevent the die-off of many coral reefs.

World Surpasses Its First Climate Tipping Point

In a report released today, October 13, 2025, international climate researchers conclude that the death of numerous tropical coral reefs caused by rising ocean temperatures can now only be prevented with the utmost effort. Parts of the polar ice sheets may have already passed their tipping points. Their continued melting could lead to an irreversible sea level rise of several meters.

Among the lead authors of the Global Tipping Points Report 2025 (GTPR 2025) is Nico Wunderling, Professor of Computational Earth System Sciences at Goethe University's Center for Critical Computational Studies | C3S and researcher at the Senckenberg Research Institute Frankfurt, who, together with other lead authors, headed the chapter on “Earth System Tipping Points and Risks." Wunderling says: “The devastating consequences that arise when climate tipping points are crossed pose a massive threat to our societies. There is even a risk of the tipping of one climate system potentially triggering or accelerating the tipping of others. This risk increases significantly once the 1.5°C threshold is exceeded."

Some two dozen subsystems of the climate system are known to have tipping points. According to the report, the first of these – that of tropical coral reefs – has now been reached. The study further assumes that the global average temperature will increase by 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels within the next few years. This means the world is entering a phase in which the crossing of further climate tipping points is at risk, potentially leading to far-reaching consequences such as sea level rise from melting ice sheets or global temperature changes in the event of a collapse of the Atlantic Ocean circulation. The report also proposes measures to counter further temperature increases.

Coordinating lead author of the GTPR 2025 is Tim Lenton, Professor at the University of Exeter's (UK) Global Systems Institute. More than 100 scientists from over 20 countries contributed to the report, published just in time for the 30th World Climate Conference, which begins on November 10, 2025, in Belém, Brazil. The Global Tipping Points Report, first published in 2023 and already widely noted at the time, is regarded as an authoritative publication in the field of assessing both the risks and opportunities of negative and positive tipping points in the Earth system and in human societies.

Climate tipping points have started receiving greater attention within climate sciences for only about 20 years. The authors of the report define a climate-induced tipping point in Earth systems – such as coral reefs, the Amazon rainforest, or large-scale ocean currents – as the level of warming beyond which these systems undergo self-reinforcing and often irreversible changes. For example, many tropical coral reefs would die off after exceeding their tipping point, even if humanity were to limit further global warming. The scientists predict that it is quite possible that additional tipping points will be crossed in the coming decades, especially as some may already lie at around 1.5°C of global warming – including those of the Amazon rainforest (leading to savannization), the ice sheets of Greenland and West Antarctica (causing several meters of sea level rise), and the Atlantic Ocean circulation (causing a sharp cooling of the European continent).

The GTPR also features a series of case studies on various tipping elements of the climate system, including the following:

Coral Reefs: Worldwide, coral reefs in tropical regions are suffering unprecedented mortality due to repeated mass bleaching events. The current global warming of about 1.4°C already exceeds their thermal tipping point, which scientists estimate at about 1.2°C. Even in the unrealistic case that warming could be stabilized at 1.5°C, there is a very high probability that the reefs will tip. Many will be permanently lost unless global temperatures drop again to 1°C above pre-industrial levels or less. The longer and the further this threshold is exceeded, the less likely recovery becomes.
Amazon Rainforest: Climate warming combined with partial deforestation is already exposing the Amazon rainforest to the risk of large-scale savannization at 1.5–2°C of global warming. This in turn could further amplify climate change.
AMOC (Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation): The collapse of the AMOC, which includes the Gulf Stream, could already occur at less than 2°C of global warming. This would lead to much colder winters in northwestern Europe, disrupt global monsoon systems, and reduce agricultural yields in large parts of the world.

The GTPR's authors emphasize that, alongside these negative tipping points in the climate system, there also exist positive tipping points in our societies. Crossing these can trigger rapid transformations toward more climate-friendly behavior. Some examples:

Renewable energies are already cheaper than fossil fuels in most parts of the world, and electric vehicles are replacing gasoline and diesel cars on the roads. This trend could prove to be both irreversible and self-reinforcing.
The gradual introduction and promotion of climate-friendly technologies by policymakers can accelerate the emergence of positive tipping points, including in the adoption of sustainable heating systems or in freight transport.
“Social contagion" mechanisms can cause a majority of people to adopt behavioral changes initiated by a minority – such as reducing meat consumption or altering mobility habits.

Global Tipping Points Report: https://global-tipping-points.org/

Further Information / Contact:
Prof. Dr. Nico Wunderling
Professor for Computational Earth System Sciences
Center for Critical Computational Studies (C3S)
Goethe University Frankfurt and Senckenberg Research Institute Frankfurt
wunderling@c3s.uni-frankfurt.de
Thilo Körkel, Research Assistant
Center for Critical Computational Studies (C3S)
koerkel@c3s.uni-frankfurt.de

Oct 9 2025

14:52

First report of effective deep brain stimulation for stuttering therapy – Pilot project by Frankfurt University Medicine and Münster University Hospital

Patient Treatment Shows: Brain Pacemaker Helps with Stuttering

Deep brain stimulation, a method where specific brain regions are activated using implanted electrodes, is a well-established approach for treating movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease. Researchers led by Christian Kell from Frankfurt University Medicine as well as Nils Warneke and Katrin Neumann from Münster University Hospital have now successfully alleviated severe stuttering in a person with developmental stuttering using this method for the first time. The researchers are now preparing a study to test the therapy on additional individuals who experience severe stuttering.

FRANKFURT. While stuttering was believed to have purely psychological causes up until about 30 years ago, scientists today attribute it to a variety of factors capable of contributing to its development. For instance, several genes have been identified that increase the risk of stuttering, and anatomically, the brains of individuals with speech flow disorders show differences in neural connections and brain activity compared to those who speak fluently.

PD Dr. Christian Kell, neurologist and director of the Cooperative Brain Imaging Center at Goethe University Frankfurt, explains: “The left hemisphere of the brain can process signals that occur in rapid succession. However, in people who stutter, the auditory cortex in the left hemisphere interacts less with the motor cortex, which controls the muscles involved in speech. As a result, the brain may delegate these tasks to the right hemisphere, which struggles with the rapid signals characteristic of speech.” The outcome: Although affected individuals know exactly what they want to say, they get stuck on certain words.

Kell does not consider stuttering to be a disease that necessarily requires therapy: “I believe it would be ideal if society could accept that some people stutter,” says the neurologist. At the same time, he is convinced that medicine should offer services to those who suffer from their speech flow disorder and seek help.

Following extensive scientific preparation and at the patient’s repetitive request, the teams from Frankfurt and Münster implanted a hair-thin wire into the left thalamus of a man who stutters. The thalamus is a central relay station deep within the brain. Through this wire, the brain region was stimulated with mild electrical currents. Standardized tests were then used to measure how the patient’s stuttering changed.

Kell is thrilled with the results: “In the months following the start of stimulation, the frequency of stuttering gradually decreased by 46%, and the stuttering became significantly less severe. When we turned off the deep brain stimulation without the patient knowing the timing, the stuttering worsened again, demonstrating a genuine biological effect dependent on the strength of the brain stimulation.” Unlike Parkinson’s patients, whose tremors typically diminish immediately after starting brain stimulation and return as soon as the stimulation is stopped, the stuttering in this case increased very slowly after the stimulation was turned off – but not to the same extent as before. Kell attributes part of this effect to the patient himself: “Through the experience of stuttering less during stimulation, he and his brain likely found ways to further reduce the stuttering.”

The research team is now preparing a study to investigate whether deep brain stimulation can also help other individuals who experience severe stuttering. However, Kell is careful to curb overly high expectations: “Deep brain stimulation is an intensive physical procedure and, like any surgery, carries risks. These must be carefully weighed against the distress experienced by a person who stutters. We also want to explore whether we can achieve similar effects by stimulating the brain externally – without surgery.”

Publication: Christian A. Kell, Nils Warneke, Verena Zentsch, Johannes Kasper, Melanie Vauth-Weidig, Tobias Warnecke, Katrin Neumann: Left thalamic deep brain stimulation for persistent developmental stuttering. Journal of Fluency Disorders (2025) https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2025.106147

Images for download:
https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/178840084

Captions:
The position of the implanted electrodes in the patient’s basal ganglia. (1)
The intensity of stuttering has clearly decreased due to deep brain stimulation. The chart illustrates the severity of stuttering over a period of up to nine years before and from three months after the surgery. (2)
Image source for both images: Kell et al., J Fluency Dis 2025, doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jfludis.2025.106147

Further Information
PD Dr. Christian Kell
Director of the Cooperative Brain Imaging Center (CoBIC)
Goethe University Frankfurt
Tel +49 (0)69 6301-6395
c.kell@em.uni-frankfurt.de
https://www.izn-frankfurt.de/mitglied/kell/