Research at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics concentrates on genome analysis of man and other organisms to contribute to a global understanding of many of the biological processes in the organism, and to elucidate the mechanism behind many human diseases. It is the overall goal of the combined efforts of all MPIMG’s groups to gain new insights into the development of diseases on a molecular level, thus contributing to the development of cause-related new medical treatments.

Genome research, the systematic study of genes and genomes, has changed the way in which research in molecular genetics is pursued. The focus and composition of the MPI for Molecular Genetics reflects this development. The Dept. of Vertebrate Genomics (Lehrach) generates the tools and information to understand the function of most or all genes of man and other organisms. The Human Molecular Genetics Dept. (Ropers) searches for disease genes and their biological function. The Dept. of Computational Molecular Biology (Vingron) exploits the generated data to better understanding of biological and disease processes. The Dept. of Developmental Genetics (Herrmann) uses the systematic functional analysis for understanding developmental mechanisms.

The institute pursues a number of large scale projects. Probably the most prominent national project is the German National Genome Network (NGFN), where all departments of the institute participate and collaborate with each other. Other prominent projects include a number of EU projects, participation in several projects of the German Ministry of Science as well DFG "Sonderforschungsbereiche". [more]