Lichtgedanken 05

Rubrik 3 05 | LICHT GEDANKEN PUBLISHER: Communications and Marketing Office on behalf of the President of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena EDITING AND DESIGN: Dr Ute Schönfelder, Till Bayer, Stephan Laudien, Irena Walinda, Axel Burchardt (responsible under German press legislation), Liana Franke, Kai Friedrich, Monika Paschwitz (editorial assistant) and Kerstin Apel (secretariat) GRAPHICS & CONCEPT: Timespin – Digital Communication GmbH, Sophienstraße 1, D-07743 Jena, Germany ADDRESS: Friedrich Schiller University Jena Fürstengraben 1, D-07743 Jena, Germany Telephone: +49 3641 9 - 31040, Email: presse@uni-jena.de PRODUCTION: Druckhaus Gera GmbH, Jacob-A.-Morand-Straße 16, D-07552 Gera, Germany INTERNET: www.uni-jena.de/en/lichtgedanken ISSN: 2510-3849 PUBLICATION DATE: March 2019 PHOTOS: Kasper (1, 3, 4, 5, 7–9, 10, 11, 12/13, 14, 15, 17, 20/21, 22–27, 31–33, 36, 37, 42, 44, 46, 51, 53–55, 62), Scho- eler (6), Schulz (11), AG Sierka (18), Günther (19, 34, 39, 40, 4 5, 48, 52, 62), P. Scheere (28), von der Gönna (29, 30), Szabó (35), Kirsche (41), privat (43, 50, 55), NASA (47), Medenbach (54), Brehm (55), Winckler (55), Musée du Louvre/Antoine Mongodin (57). May not be reproduced without prior permission. We do not accept any liability for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs etc. The views expressed in the authored articles do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the publisher. The undersigned are responsible for the contents. In some articles, we have only used the masculine form to improve readability. The formulations chosen are intended to reflect all genders in equal measure. Working together for success: the Friedrich Schiller University has been named one of the winners of the Excel- lence Strategy run by the German go- vernment and federal states thanks to its »Balance of the Microverse« re- search cluster. Since the beginning of 2019, the Jena-based research network has been entitled to around six million euros each year for the next seven ye- ars. As such, Jena is one of three loca- tions in eastern Germany, along with Berlin and Dresden, to receive the seal of excellence. The President, Prof. Dr Walter Rosent- hal, who we interviewed for this edi- tion of LICHT GEDANKEN (p. 7), sees it »as a great success for the research profile of the Friedrich Schiller Univer- sity«. The University has a new mot- to »Light, Life, Liberty—Connecting Visions« and is forging a wide range of connections: between the focal re- search areas Light, Life and Liberty, between its ten faculties and non-uni- versity institutions, and by integrating individual projects. The large cluster also incorporates fu- ture-oriented research, which we pre- sent in our main topic: »Made-to-mea- sure medication«. Even in 2019, there are still many diseases for which there are no cures or for which only insuf- ficient treatments exist. Generally, it is not a lack of active ingredients that is causing problems, it is rather the diffi- culty of getting the active ingredients to the precise location of the disease in an efficient manner. Researchers at the University of Jena are forging new paths to improve precisely this aspect: they are using precision techniques to analyse the molecular control cent- Connecting Visions res within the body. They control the metabolic processes and are where the body’s own signal molecules or active agents dock. Other teams of scientists are designing and testing nanopar- ticles which package the active ingre- dients efficiently and activate these control centres within the body. As such, it is possible to reduce side ef- fects and to significantly improve the efficacy of medication. The present edi- tion of our research magazine is devo- ted to these projects and presents some of them as examples of the work being conducted (p. 12 ff). The University also collaborates in other areas. For example, it exchanges items from its research and teaching collections with museums and rese- arch institutions far beyond Germany’s borders. This establishes links with these institutions whilst also bringing together thousands of years of cultural history (p. 58 ff). Some exhibits from the University’s antique collections are currently on display at the world-fa- mous Louvre museum in Paris (p. 56). I hope that you will enjoy reading this edition. I also look forward to recei- ving your feedback. Please do not he- sitate to contact the editorial team or myself: presse@uni-jena.de . Dr Ute Schönfelder, Editor Communications and Marketing Office Friedrich Schiller University Jena Jena, March 2019 Editorial