Goethe-Universität — Press releases

Goethe University PR & Communication Department

Apr 27 2026

16:02

Goethe University Invites the Public to Its Spring Festival on Riedberg Campus

Science in Bloom with Music, Sport and Culinary Delights

FRANKFURT. When spring is in full bloom in early May, Goethe University hosts its annual festival on Riedberg Campus. Set amidst the diverse botany of the carefully designed Science Garden, visitors to the Spring Festival, held

on Sunday, May 10, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Campus Riedberg, Goethe University
Max-von-Laue-Straße 13, 60438 Frankfurt

can enjoy guided tours, shop for plants, take in the musical program, and simply spend a wonderful day. The event kicks off at 11:00 AM with an opening ceremony featuring Vice President Prof. Viera Pierker, biology professor Meike Piepenbrink, and Robert Anton, head of the Science Garden. Throughout the day, numerous booths will provide insights into the research under way at Goethe University. Topics range from astrophysics and biodiversity in school gardens to plants in global transformation. What happens when biology travels from Earth to space? Which plants bloomed on the Riedberg around 1900? And why is soil a natural resource under threat? Visitors will have the chance to discuss these and other questions directly with experts. Goethe University's Sustainability Office, the AStA Bike Workshop, and the Zoo Friends of Frankfurt will also have booths, along with many others.

More than 20 guided tours covering a wide range of topics will once again be offered between 11:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. These include Tiny Forests as green oases in the city, the flora of parking lots, medicinal plants, and the biology of the honeybee. Visitors will also have the chance to explore the artworks on campus and the Biomolecular Magnetic Resonance Center (BMRZ). Starting at 11:45 a.m., a diverse music program will kick off, featuring bands such as “gelinde gesagt,” “NIEMALS,” “The Odd Projekt,” and “Feinschmeckerfolk.” Sports enthusiasts can join a Pilates or yoga session or learn the dances of Zouk and Bachata. There will also be a plant exchange – with care tips included – childcare, and a children’s program. And at the food stands, there’s something to satisfy every taste.

The entire program is available here: https://tinygu.de/Fruehlingsfest2026

Apr 27 2026

07:53

New Bürgeruniversität program offers around 200 events for the wider Frankfurt community

Festivals, Tours and Talks: Goethe University Opens Its Research to the Public

What questions are researchers at Goethe University Frankfurt exploring – and how do they go about finding answers? The events of the Bürgeruniversität (Citizen University) allow members of the public from Frankfurt and the surrounding region to gain direct insights into current research across a wide range of disciplines. The new program is now available as a printed brochure and as a PDF in Goethe University's WebMagazine.

FRANKFURT. Fear in democracy, the power of emotions, and the rise of new authoritarianism: many events in the current Bürgeruniversität program engage with pressing public debates and examine them through the lenses of conflict studies, sociology, law and political science. One highlight is the 24th Frankfurter Stadtgespräch (Civic Dialogue) in June, which will address the topic “Defending Democracy: Opportunities and Limits of Banning Political Parties."

The program also offers a rich selection for literature enthusiasts. Its most prominent event is the Frankfurt Poetics Lectures, where acclaimed young author Joshua Groß will deliver three lectures in June under the title “Walking Beside Oneself: Thinking in Avatars". The colloquium “Modern German Literature" explores the role of literature in contemporary society, while another lecture series focuses on “The Middle Ages and Children's Literature".

Two major festivals highlight the diversity of research at Goethe University. The student-organized Night of Science on Campus Riedberg in June will present twelve hours of hands-on science for visitors of all ages, with computer science as the special focus of this 25th anniversary edition. In September, the Science Festival Frankfurt will take place on Rossmarkt under the motto “Gude Zukunft" (“Hello Future"), organized by the 16 members of the Frankfurt Alliance. Goethe University researchers from a wide range of fields will present their projects there.

The discussion series AU•T•OP•SIEN will showcase special collections held by the University Library. Among the events held by Fritz Bauer Institute will be “Memories of Micha Brumlik", featuring companions and colleagues such as Daniel Cohn-Bendit, Hauke Brunkhorst and Dan Diner. Meanwhile, the Museum Giersch of Goethe University exhibition “Multispecies Members Club: New Alliances Between Living and Artificial Systems" brings scientists and artists together to explore how a technologized society might be built on care and participation rather than competition.

The Bürgeruniversität program is available at public institutions across the city and in Goethe University's online events calendar at: www.buerger.uni-frankfurt.de/

Most Bürgeruniversität events are free of charge and can be attended without prior registration.

The first Bürgeruniversität was launched in 2008 – the same year Goethe University became a foundation university, returning to its historical roots. Goethe University Frankfurt was originally founded in 1914 by citizens of Frankfurt as Germany's first university established through civic philanthropy.

Apr 24 2026

11:00

Professor Olena Fedchenko now also funded through the Volkswagen Foundation’s Lichtenberg Program – Returns from the foundation’s endowment benefit the Gisela and Wilfried Eckhardt Endowed Professorship

Quantum Materials: Volkswagen Foundation provides € 2 million for Eckhardt Endowed Professorship at Goethe University

Physicist Olena Fedchenko conducts research at Goethe University on novel quantum materials that will be key to future technological breakthroughs. Since 2025, she has held the Gisela-and Wilfried Eckhardt Endowed Professorship for Experimental Physics, financed through returns from the Gisela and Wilfried Eckhardt Endowment Fund at Goethe University. This endowment fund is now being supported by the Volkswagen Foundation with two million euros as part of its Lichtenberg Program. Among other activities, Olena Fedchenko conducts research in the Collaborative Research Center/Transregio ElastoQMat as part of the joint activities of the Rhine-Main Universities (RMU).

FRANKFURT. At the center of Olena Fedchenko's research interest are modern quantum materials. Developing them is one of the key challenges in the field of information technology. They will be used in the future for novel types of computer hardware, quantum sensors and control systems, and highly efficient solar cells, for example.

Quantum materials exhibit fascinating phenomena in response to external stimuli, such as superconductivity, spontaneous magnetic ordering and charge ordering. These phenomena have inspired the research community to explore even more exotic effects for potential applications. The deep understanding of magnetic, thermal, optical and electrical properties of those materials can be only achieved with comprehensive insight into electrons' behaviour within these substances and how they affect the observable microscopic effects. The distribution of electrons within the material is unique like a fingerprint. By tuning the electronic distribution of quantum materials, it is possible to dramatically change or even create new exotic physical properties of those materials for the needs of modern electronics.

Olena Fedchenko investigates peculiarities in the electronic structure of quantum materials utilising various photon sources, such as lasers, X-ray beams and discharge lamps, in laboratories and large research facilities, such as synchrotrons. Photons with specific kinetic energies cause ejection of individual electrons from materials in a process known as photoelectric effect. The properties of the ejected electrons (such as their energy and angular distribution) reveal to researchers how electrons behave within the quantum material and what its structure is.

To measure photoelectrons Fedchenko uses modern powerful technique: angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy with efficient time-of-flight detection scheme. Her aim is to develop a deep understanding of the interconnection between the electronic structure, exotic macroscopic properties and behaviour of quantum materials. Answering this question will lay the foundation for producing and controlling such modern materials.

Prof. Enrico Schleiff, President of Goethe University Frankfurt, says: “Thanks to the Volkswagen Foundation, we are able to provide the Gisela and Wilfried Eckhardt Endowed Professorship for Experimental Physics with a sustainable and attractive endowment, thereby creating optimal research conditions. By appointing Olena Fedchenko, we have further expanded the future field of research into quantum materials as a key to important future technologies and strengthened our cooperation with Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz within the Rhine-Main Universities alliance."

President Schleiff continues: “The fact that we were able to establish such an important professorship for experimental physics in times of increasingly scarce funding for universities is thanks to the generosity of our alumna Gisela Eckhardt, who was very successful as a physicist and donated her assets to us as the foundation for this endowed professorship. In Olena Fedchenko, we have gained a colleague who is in no way inferior to the innovative spirit of the donor—Ms. Eckhardt would certainly be more than proud!"

Professor Jens Müller, Managing Director of the Institute of Physics at Goethe University, is convinced: “As an important pillar of our research focus 'Condensed Matter and Quantum Materials', Olena Fedchenko's analytical research serves as a link between the production and the experimental characterization of correlated quantum materials and theoretical solid-state physics. In addition, she will establish photoelectron spectroscopy within the framework of a service center for materials research at Goethe University."

Dr. Georg Schütte, Chairman of the Volkswagen Foundation: “With our funding, we are supporting an outstanding researcher in a scientifically highly exciting and forward-looking field of basic research. At the same time, this field of research involves considerable expenditure on equipment and materials – we therefore know that our funding in Frankfurt is not only very well invested, but also necessary to sustainably establish this research area there. This funding also marks the conclusion of our very successful Lichtenberg Program, whose development since 2002 we can look back on today with pride."

Olena Fedchenko, born in 1987, studied electronics at Sumy State University in Ukraine. In 2014, she completed her doctorate there in physics and mathematics and subsequently worked as a professor assistant in the Department of Applied Physics. From 2015 to 2024, she conducted research in experimental solid-state physics at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, where she contributed, among other things, to the development of photoemission techniques at the DESY accelerator center in Hamburg. In 2025, Olena Fedchenko was appointed to the Gisela and Wilfried Eckhardt Endowed Professorship for Experimental Physics in the field of solid-state spectroscopy of electronically correlated materials at Goethe University Frankfurt.Together with French colleagues, she holds a patent for a system developed for studying the surfaces of modern materials using a pulsed monochromatic source with a very high energy resolution based on a cold atom trap ("Pulsed electron source and surface analysis system comprising such a pulsed source").

Background information:
One of late laser pioneer Gisela Eckhardt's legacies: A new endowed physics professorship at Goethe University (2025)
https://aktuelles.uni-frankfurt.de/english/one-of-late-laser-pioneer-gisela-eckhardts-legacies-a-new-endowed-physics-professorship-at-goethe-university

Quantum leaps in materials research
https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/166140039/forschung-frankfurt-1-2023-alien-worlds.pdf#page=30

Picture download:
https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/184125955

Caption: Professor Olena Fedchenko, Institute of Physics, Goethe University Frankfurt. Photo: Ekaterina Fedorenko

Bluesky: @goetheuni.bsky.social
Linkedin: @Goethe-Universität Frankfurt

Apr 23 2026

11:00

Researchers have mapped the evolution of a type of leukaemia that is exclusive to children with Down syndrome and may have identified an overarching weakness in the cancer's genetic makeup

Unravelling the evolution of leukemia in children with Down Syndrome

Children with Down syndrome are at high risk of developing myeloid leukemia. A research team from Goethe University Frankfurt, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Great Ormond Street Hospital, and their cooperation partners has discovered how individual cells of the affected children's blood-forming system change in such a way that leukemia develops via a pre-cancerous stage. In this way, the researchers identified the genetic programs involved and found a potential therapeutic target in myeloid leukemia in children with Down syndrome.

FRANKFURT. Children with Down syndrome have a 150-fold increased risk of developing myeloid leukemia (ML-DS). This is because 15 to 30 percent of children with Down syndrome develop a transient disorder of the blood-forming system as newborns, known as transient myeloproliferative syndrome (TAM). In its acute phase, TAM is virtually indistinguishable from ML-DS: in both conditions, precursor cells of white blood cells, or leukocytes, proliferate uncontrolled in the bone marrow. As a result, they replace normal blood-forming cells, which can lead to anemia, impaired defense against infections, and an increased tendency to bleed. Unlike the cancer ML-DS, however, TAM regresses spontaneously. Because the two conditions are difficult to distinguish from one another, patients with TAM often also receive cancer treatment.

At the same time, TAM represents a precursor stage of ML-DS: If, in addition to the mutation in a protein called GATA1 that triggers TAM, further mutations in other proteins occur in the following years of life, children with Down syndrome develop myeloid leukemia. A research team led by Professor Jan-Henning Klusmann of Goethe University Frankfurt, Professor Jack Bartram of Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, and Professor Sam Behjati of Wellcome Sanger Institute in Hinxton, UK, has now for the first time traced the individual molecular steps of this cancer development.

To do so, the team analyzed leukemia samples from young patients suffering from TAM or ML-DS of different types and stages. The researchers used a method that makes it possible to determine which genes are active in individual TAM or cancer cells, known as single-cell mRNA sequencing. In addition, they screened the genetic material (genome) of these cells for mutations. They focused in particular on the GATA1 protein, whose mutation triggers TAM. GATA1 is a type of switch protein (a transcription factor) that orchestrates the normal development of blood cells, and whose malfunction in TAM and ML-DS cells contributes to rapid and uncontrolled growth.

The result: Depending on the developmental stage of TAM and ML-DS cells, different genes are active that contribute to the disease phenotype. Different mutations are also responsible for varying degrees of severity or stages of the two diseases. In contrast, the gene activity patterns attributable to the GATA1 mutation were similar in all TAM and ML-DS cells.

Professor Jan-Henning Klusmann explains: “Because the effects of the mutated GATA1 were not overshadowed by the consequences of other mutations, the GATA1 mutation appears to be central to these diseases. GATA1 could therefore be a target for future ML-DS therapies."

Another finding: Differences were observed in the gene activity patterns of cells from classic TAM, which regresses spontaneously within a few weeks or months, and recurrent TAM, which occurs twice in succession. The gene activity patterns of recurrent TAM were similar to those of ML-DS. The research team therefore concludes that such gene activity patterns could potentially serve in the future as biomarkers to predict the risk of developing ML-DS.

Professor Jack Bartram, co-senior author at Great Ormond Street Hospital, said: “This is the first time that it has been possible to investigate the full evolution of pre-cancer to cancer cells in the context of ML-DS. Rare cancers impact the lives of children and families around the world, and research is the only way that we will find answers that can help inform new approaches and treatments."

Professor Jan-Henning Klusmann, co-senior author at Goethe University Frankfurt, said: “While it has been previously known that there is an increased risk of myeloid leukaemia in children with Down syndrome, the underlying genetic programs were obscure. While further investigation is needed before this can have clinical implications, our research has shown that it is possible to identify which pre-cancerous cells develop into myeloid leukaemia in children with Down syndrome by looking at the genomic data."

Professor Sam Behjati, co-senior author at Wellcome Sanger Institute, said: “Cancer can impact all our lives, and to fully understand all the different subtypes, no matter how rare, we must work together to build our collective knowledge. This international collaboration gives a broader understanding of human cancer, and how different genetic changes must be studied together to gain the full picture of how they interact and cause conditions such as myeloid leukaemia of Down's syndrome."

Publication: Mi K. Trinh, Konstantin Schuschel, Hasan Issa, Rebecca Thomas, Conor Parks, Agnes Oszlanczi, Toochi Ogbonnah, Di Zhou, Lira Mamanova, Elena Prigmore, Emilia Robertson, Angus Hodder, Anna Wenger, Nathaniel D. Anderson, Holly J. Whitfield, Taryn D. Treger, José Gonçalves-Dias, Karin Straathof, David O'Connor, Matthew D. Young, Laura Jardine, Stuart Adams, Jan-Henning Klusmann, Jack Bartram, Sam Behjati: Single cell transcriptional evolution of myeloid leukaemia of Down syndrome. Nature Communications (2026), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-026-71707-2

Picture download:
https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/185174017

Caption: Blood of a child with Down syndrome who is suffering from transient myeloproliferative syndrome (TAM). Under the microscope, similar to leukemia, almost exclusively the purple-stained immature precursors of white blood cells (blasts) can be seen. Photo: Jan-Henning Klusmann, Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt

Contact:
Professor Jan-Henning Klusmann
Director Department of Pediatrics
Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt / Goethe University Frankfurt
Tel: +49 (0)69 6301-5094
klusmann@em.uni-frankfurt.de
www.leukemia-research.de

Bluesky: @goetheuni.bsky.social
Linkedin: @Goethe-Universität Frankfurt @Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt @Jan-Henning Klusmann @Wellcome Sanger Institute @Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust @Jack Bartram MD PhD

Apr 17 2026

11:11

Eva Illouz will deliver a keynote at the annual workshop of the research training group “Aesthetics of Democracy” and the research focus “Democratic Vistas” at Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften Institute for Advanced Studies

Is Guilt Good for Democracy?

BAD HOMBURG. Emotions play a decisive role in shaping the political culture of democracy. Israeli-French sociologist Eva Illouz has explored in several widely discussed works – including The Emotional Life of Populism: How Fear, Disgust, Resentment, and Love Undermine Democracy and Explosive Emotions: How Modern Society Shapes What We Feel – how fear, resentment, anxiety, disgust, and love emerge from social conditions and influence democracy. In her keynote at the joint annual workshop of the new German Research Foundation (DFG) Research Training Group “Aesthetics of Democracy" and Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften's research focus “Democratic Vistas", she revisits this subject – this time with a focus on an emotion that sparks particularly intense debate in Germany: guilt.

In her English-language lecture, “Is Guilt Good for Democracy?", Illouz retraces the cultural and historical processes through which guilt has become a central emotion in the self-conception of liberal democracies since the 1980s. She explores the normative and political implications of this transformation and asks whether guilt acts as a productive or inhibiting force in democratic societies. The lecture will take place

on Friday, April 24, 7 p.m.
at the Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften Institute for Advanced Studies
Am Wingertsberg 4
in Bad Homburg.

Prof. Johannes Völz, spokesperson for the Research Training Group and co-spokesperson of “Democratic Vistas," will introduce the topic.

Eva Illouz is a professor of sociology at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and director of studies at the École des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS) in Paris. She has published numerous books on the sociology of emotions, consumer capitalism, and modern culture. For her work, she was awarded the Frank Schirrmacher Prize 2024, the Aby Warburg Prize 2024, and the EMET Prize for Social Sciences, among others. Latest book publications: The Emotional Life of Populism. How Fear, Disgust, Resentment, and Love Undermine Democracy (Polity Press, 2023), Der 8. Oktober. Über die Ursprünge des neuen Antisemitismus (in German, Suhrkamp, 2025), and Explosive Emotions. How Modern Society Shapes What We Feel (Princeton University Press, 2026).

Registration: Registration open until April 21 at anmeldung@forschungskolleg-humanwissenschaften.de

The event poster is available for download here: https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/184956955.

Getting Here
Public Transportation: The nearest stops are Kaiser-Wilhelms-Bad (Bus 6), Bad Homburg Station (S 5), and Ober-Eschbach (U 2).

By Car: Please use the nearby parking options – the Casino Parking Garage, accessible via Weinbergsweg, or the parking lot at the Tennis Club and Kur Royal Aktiv, located at Kisseleffstraße 20.

Further Information:
Monika Hellstern
Science Communication
Forschungskolleg Humanwissenschaften – Institute of Advanced Studies at Goethe University Frankfurt
Tel. +49 (0)6172 13977-45
E-Mail hellstern@forschungskolleg-humanwissenschaften.de
Homepage www.forschungskolleg-humanwissenschaften.de
Facebook / YouTube @FKHbadhomburg

Press releases – 2026