Communications

At the outset of 2026, Prof. Dr. Paul Schulze-Lefert, long-standing Director of the Department of Plant-Microbe, will enter retirement. Over more than 25 years at the helm of his department, he made significant contributions to plant immunity, microbiota research, and molecular plant–microbe interactions, shaping both the Institute and his field of research.
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Paul Schulze-Lefert, Jane Parker, Stéphane Hacquard, and Ruben Garrido-Oter “have demonstrated significant and broad influence in their field(s) of research”. more

Mercier is awarded together with four other researchers for introducing asexual reproduction through seeds into rice, an innovation that could hugely simplify efforts to propagate elite plant varieties, thus revolutionizing agriculture and contributing significantly to food security.
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Professor Paul Schulze-Lefert has been elected as a Fellow of the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei. In 2025, 46 researchers from around the world received this accolade in recognition of their outstanding scientific achievements. more

Prof. Dr. Miltos Tsiantis, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Plant Breeding Research and head of the Department of Comparative Development and Genetics, receives an Advanced Grant from the European Research Council (ERC). The prestigious funding will support his project CLONAL, aimed at advancing our understanding of clonal reproduction by root sucker formation. more

Science stepped out of the lab and into the pub as the international Pint of Science Festival returned to Cologne from 19 to 21 May, bringing cutting-edge research to local audiences in a relaxed and approachable setting. The first evening of the event set the tone for an engaging and insightful series, as three of our PhD-students took the stage under the theme “The Future is Female.” more