Here is an overview of our Einstein Research Projects.
Arts and Humanities
The literary scholars Andreas Kraß (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) and Tamar Hess, together with historian Moshe Sluhovsky (both Hebrew University Jerusalem), argue that between 1890 and 1945 a new literary canon came into being, which they describe as "Jewish Homosexual Modernism". They propose that modern Hebrew literature, being shaped by the German modernist canon, participated in the construction and dissemination of this Jewish Homosexual canon of modernism. In their research project, the scholars will investigate the entanglement of Judaism and homosexuality from the point of views both of the self-image and the public image. In doing so, they want to explore the influence of this entanglement – often based on antisemitic and homophobic ideas – on European Modernism. The research project aims to extend the knowledge of Jewish-German literature and to propose new ways of reading literary modernism.
Funding period: 01/2020 - 12/2022
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Andreas Kraß
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Institut für deutsche Literatur
Unter den Linden 6
10099 Berlin
T: +49(0)30-2093-9711
M: andreas.krass(at)hu-berlin.de
Applicant: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin
Cooperation partner: Hebrew University Jerusalem
A team led by Stefan Rinke, a Latin American historian at the Freie Universität, and Stefanie Schüler-Springorum from the Centre for Research on Antisemitism at the Technische Universität will research “Personal testimonies of Jews returning to Berlin from Latin America (1945/49-1970)” as part of an Einstein Research Project. Between 1933 and the end of World War II, Latin America was a key destination for all those fleeing the National Socialist regime. Following Allied victory in 1945, however, it also became a hiding place for many who had committed crimes during Nazi rule. German Jews remigrating from Latin America to the German Federal Republic between 1945 and the start of the 1970s often hoped that they would be able to retrieve their stolen property thanks to the passing of the German Restitution Laws. Papers documenting these attempts can be found in the basements of some of Berlin’s official buildings in records compiled by the State of Berlin’s restitution authorities. These files contain statements made by victims explaining the circumstances they faced under National Socialism in Germany and in Latin America. This project will use these documents and resources from German and Latin American archives to examine the lives of Jews living in exile in Latin America. Researchers will focus on family situations and networks, knowledge acquisition, continuing antisemitism, and the challenges posed by remigration and the quest for restitution in post-war Berlin. In addition to the institutions named above, the team will be aided in their research and analysis by the Selma Stern Center for Jewish Studies Berlin-Brandenburg, the University of Potsdam, and the Ibero-American Institute. The Jewish Museum Berlin, the Exilmuseum, and the Documentation Centre for Displacement, Expulsion, Reconciliation will also be involved in the project.
Funding period: 01/2023 - 01/2026
Contact:
Univ.-Prof. Dr. Stefan Rinke
ZI Lateinamerika-Institut
Freie Universität Berlin
Rüdesheimer Str. 54-56
14197 Berlin
Tel.: +49 30 838 55588
Applicant: Freie Universität Berlin
Cooperation partner: Center for Research on Antisemitism at Technische Universität Berlin; Selma Stern Zentrum für Jüdische Studien Berlin-Brandenburg; University of Potsdam; Ibero-American Institute
Life sciences
Das transdisziplinäre Projekt will erstmals sogenannte Gehirn-Computer Schnittstellen auf der Basis von Quantensensoren entwickeln und diese im klinischen Einsatz zur Wiederherstellung von Kommunikation und Bewegung, beispielsweise nach einem schweren Schlaganfall, zu testen. Quantensensoren erlauben es, Hirnaktivität in bisher unerreichter räumlicher und zeitlicher Auflösung von der Schädeloberfläche aufzuzeichnen. Das System soll es ermöglichen, komplexe Bewegungen eines Roboters zu steuern oder vorgestellte Sprache aus neuromagnetischer Hirnaktivität zu rekonstruieren. Solche Anwendungen erforderten bisher die Implantation von Elektroden ins Gehirn. Das geplante Einstein-Forschungsvorhaben bündelt die Berliner Expertise in den Bereichen Neurotechnologie (Einstein-Professor Surjo R. Soekadar, Charité), dem Maschinellen Lernen (Prof. Dr. Benjamin Blankertz, TU) und der Quantensensorik (Tilmann Sander-Thömmes & Thomas Middelmann, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt).
Laufzeit: 09/2020 - 09/2023
Ansprechpartner:
Prof. Dr. med. Surjo R. Soekadar
Neurowissenschaftliches Forschungszentrum (NWFZ) Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie (CCM) Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Charitéplatz 1
10117 Berlin
Tel.: 0163 / 1644889
Email: surjo.soekadar@charite.de
Antragsteller: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Kooperationspartner: Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt, Institut Berlin
Funding period: 09/2020 - 09/2023
Contact:
Prof. Dr. med. Surjo R. Soekadar
Neurowissenschaftliches Forschungszentrum (NWFZ) Klinik für Psychiatrie und Psychotherapie (CCM) Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Charitéplatz 1
10117 Berlin
Email: surjo.soekadar@charite.de
Telefon: +49-163-1644889
Applicant: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Cooperation partner: Technische Bundesanstalt Institut Berlin, Technische Universität Berlin
At Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, T cells that have been modified with T cell receptors are used for the first time in the treatment of patients with multiple myeloma, one of the most common tumors of bone and bone marrow. In this project associated with a clinical study, the effect of T cell therapy on the destruction of tumor cells in the bone marrow of mice is investigated in order to understand and overcome the causes of recurrence of tumors. Innovative imaging techniques such as long-term analyzes at the single cell level and 3-photon microscopy in the bone marrow are employed. With the research project of Anja Hauser-Hankeln (Professor of Immunology, Charité), Matthias Leisegang (Professor of T-Cell Therapy, Charité) and Raluca Niesner (Professor of Biophysics in the Department of Veterinary Medicine, FU Berlin), the T-cell-induced deterioration in the bone marrow can be examined in real time in order to pave the way for further development of even more effective T-cell therapies in the future.
Funding period: 09/2020 - 09/2023
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Med. Vet. Anja Erika Hauser-Hankeln
Gleimstraße 52
10437 Berlin
Germany
Tel: +49 (0)170-2788873
Fax: +49 (0)30-81616443
E-mail: anja.hauser-hankeln@charite.de
Applicant: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Cooperation partner: Freie Universität Berlin
The project "Using Computational Modeling to Understand Large-Scale Networks and Circuit Dysfunctions in Schizophrenia," led by Peter Uhlhaas, Professor of Early Detection and Early Intervention of Mental Illness at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, is investigating the neural basis of schizophrenia. The focus is on the question of what role changes in certain neurotransmitter systems have in the development of the disease. Since the causes of schizophrenic disorders are still not sufficiently understood, treatment is also limited: While hallucinations, for example, can be reduced by medication, other common accompanying symptoms such as lack of drive, concentration and memory problems of patients remain difficult to treat. In order to be able to better treat schizophrenia in the future, Uhlhaas, in collaboration with a team from the Technical University, is striving for a sound understanding of the biological mechanisms of the disease. To this end, he is using neuro-imaging methods in combination with an innovative brain simulation platform that allows electrophysiological data to be traced back to the underlying neuronal circuits and neurotransmitter systems involved.
Funding period: 09/2021 - 08/23
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Peter J. Uhlhaas
Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
KJP Forschung
Augustenburger Platz 113359 Berlin
Tel.: (030) 450 516 193
Applicant: Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Social and behavioural sciences
With the project "Open-source modeling of the future role of renewable hydrogen in Germany and Europe", a team from the Department of Economic and Infrastructure Policy at Technische Universität Berlin, together with the German Institute for Economic Research (DIW), is researching what role renewable hydrogen will play in the energy transition in Germany and how it can contribute to achieving the goal of climate neutrality. Economist Christian von Hirschhausen from the Technical University is leading the project; in addition, infrastructure researcher Konstantin Löffler (also from the Technical University) and Franziska Holz and Wolf-Peter Schill from DIW's Energy-Transport-Environment department are involved as principal investigators. The group will use digital, open-source-based computational models to address questions such as how much hydrogen needs to be produced to achieve decarbonization at the national as well as the European level, and how a switch to renewable hydrogen would affect electricity storage. In addition, the team is addressing the problem of how to negotiate the needs of a flexible energy sector on the one hand and the demand for energy efficiency on the other. Efforts are also being made to strengthen international research collaborations, including with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim and the American University in Washington, D.C.
Funding period: 09/2021 - 08/24
Contact:
Prof. Dr. Christian von Hirschhausen
Technische Universität Berlin
Department of Wirtschafts- und Infrastrukturpolitik (WIP)
Strasse des 17. Juni 135
10623 Berlin
Email: cvh@wip.tu-berlin.de
Phone: +49 (030) 314 25048
Fax: +49 (030) 314 26934
Applicant: Technische Universität Berlin
Cooperation partner: Deutsches Institut für Wirtschaftsforschung
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