Biotech Fellows International: LIR receives funding for international biotechnology project

The LIR is delighted to announce its participation in the new funding initiative “Biotech Fellows International.” On September 5, 2025, in Mainz, Science Minister Clemens Hoch presented the funding approvals for five projects that the state of Rhineland-Palatinate is supporting with a total of just under one million euros. The aim is to strengthen cutting-edge biotechnology research and intensify international research dialogue.

Together with Ghent University (Belgium), the LIR is developing innovative methods in the “Bdnf-CellREADR” project to use mRNA technologies to introduce therapeutic proteins into specific cell types in the brain. The aim is to develop new therapeutics, such as the neurotrophic factor BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor), for the prevention and treatment of depression and for promoting resilience.

“This funding enables us to work with our excellent colleagues at Ghent University in Belgium to develop innovative intervention approaches for promoting resilience, thereby establishing a sustainable international network for our research,” emphasizes Prof. Dr. Beat Lutz, Scientific Director at LIR.

The Leibniz Science Campus NanoBrain also ties in here: it combines leading expertise in nanomedicine and mRNA technology with translational stress and resilience research. Mutual exchange and mutual reinforcement are a matter of course and form the basis of joint success.

The funded projects will run until 2027 and cover a broad spectrum – from drug research and new cancer therapies to the development of innovative approaches for the treatment of autoimmune diseases.