Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics
Main building of the institute at Freiburg
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| Abbreviation | MPI-IE |
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| Formation | 1961 (as Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology) |
| Type | Scientific institute |
| Purpose | Research in immunobiology, developmental biology and epigenetics |
| Headquarters | Freiburg, Germany |
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Parent organization
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Max Planck Society |
| Website |
(English) (German) |
The Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics (German: Max-Planck-Institut für Immunobiologie und Epigenetik) in Freiburg, Germany is an interdisciplinary research institute that conducts basic research in modern immunobiology and developmental biology. It was founded in 1961 as the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and is one of 80 institutions of the Max Planck Society. Originally named the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology, it was renamed to its current name in 2010 as it widened its research thrusts to the study of epigenetics.
The researchers of the institute study the development of the immune system and analyse the genes and molecules which are important for its function. They also seek to establish which factors control the maturation of immune cells and how chemical changes of the DNA influence the immune defense. The 1984 Nobel Prize-winning biologist Georges J. F. Köhler was director of the institute from 1984 until his death in 1995.
Beginning in the early 1960s, the institute was founded within the former research facilities of German pharmaceutical company Wander AG located in Freiburg. By the 1970s, MPIIE was engaged in studies focusing on interactions between infectious agents, particularly endotoxin, and the human immune system. Research scope was then expanded into cellular and molecular mechanisms of B and T cells in the next decade. By the 1990s, the institute saw beginning research on genetic imprinting and epigenetics. Molecular mechanisms of lymphoid cell differentiation and the regulation of genes via extracellular signals were later added as research areas in later years. In 2007, the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology included epigenetics as a new research department and thus the institute was formally renamed to the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics by 2010.
The Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics is organised into four departments. In addition to the four departments, the institute includes an adjunct University Department on Molecular Immunology headed by Michael Reth, and the Spemann Laboratory, which has the aim of promoting the early independence of junior scientists.
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