The GRADE center iQbio is a cooperation between the Goethe University Frankfurt (GUF) and the Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies (FIAS). With an emphasis on research in the fields of experimental and theoretical quantitative biology, it is central for the GUF profile area ‘Structure and dynamics of Life’.
For young researchers at the beginning of their careers, iQbio aims to provide a platform to explore and perform interdisciplinary research. With a broad range of thematically and methodically focused events, lectures, and workshops, iQbio provides the opportunity to discuss PhD and postdoc projects among peers or with internationally renowned scientists. Based on this scientific network we encourage PhD candidates and postdocs at the interface between experimental and theoretical quantitative biology to develop and explore interdisciplinary research questions. In addition, we offer tailored measures and training opportunities such as workshops and seminars for the development of professional and scientific skills, financial support for conferences, research stays, PhD and Postdoc symposia as well as career coaching.
Research Focus
The physicochemical interactions between macromolecular components create a cellular machinery of great complexity with an intertwined meshwork of actions and reactions. Whereas core molecular repertoires have been identified and biochemically characterized at the atomistic level, we understand very little about how the cells, tissues, and organs function as a whole and how they communicate. To approach this problem, many scientists study specific molecules, complexes, processes, or pathways in isolation, as it is currently not possible to integrate all dimensions. Nevertheless, to fully understand life, all obtained information needs to be placed back into its native context or into larger networks. For this, quantitative analyses at high temporal and spatial resolution and the integration of experimental and computational/mathematical research are necessary. Working at the interface between different fields of natural and life sciences requires efficient communication. This is precisely the strategy that IQbio aims to train graduate students and Postdocs in, because one of the biggest hurdles for the successful application of computational methods in experimental biology is the difficulty to translate biological hypotheses into computational methods because experimentalists and modelers tend to use different ‘languages’ to describe their findings and methods.
