Press release

07/14/2026

The Executive Board of the Einstein Foundation Berlin has approved nine new grants with a total volume of €4.74 million for the next five years. Funding will be provided for two Einstein Professorships, one Einstein Berlin/HUJI research project, five researchers under the Einstein Postdoctoral Grant programme, and one researcher under the programme for academic freedom. The projects cover a wide range of topics, from algebraic geometry and novel approaches to quantum simulation and climate research to the social dynamics surrounding the establishment of nature conservation areas. With these decisions, the Foundation is strengthening Berlin as a centre of science and research while also supporting its international connectedness.

Einstein Professorship

Gavril Farkas is Professor of Algebraic Geometry at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin and has held the chair of the same name since 2007.  He is considered one of the world’s leading experts in the theory of algebraic curves and moduli spaces in algebraic geometry. Algebraic curves, introduced nearly two centuries ago, are central objects in numerous areas of mathematics and theoretical physics. In his research, he addresses fundamental mathematical questions regarding the structure and classification of algebraic curves, as well as their parameter spaces in which they can be systematically described. Another focus of his work is the relationship between the structure of the equations of curves and their geometric properties. Connecting in innovative ways different parts of mathematics, he made a decisive contribution to the resolution of important conjectures concerning syzygies of algebraic curves. Thanks to the additional funding provided by the Einstein Professorship, Berlin is able to retain a scholar who significantly shapes mathematics in the capital, through his internationally recognized research and his commitment to supporting junior researchers.
 

Thanks to his appointment as an Einstein Professor, Professor Harald Prüß will continue his work in Berlin, where he serves as Director of the Department of Experimental Neurology and the ‘autoimmunity and neurodegeneration’ section at Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, as well as research group leader at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE). His scientific and clinical work focuses on autoimmune encephalopathies – brain disorders in which misdirected antibodies attack neurons or synaptic receptors, triggering neurological as well as psychiatric symptoms. Professor Prüß is regarded, both nationally and internationally, as one of the leading researchers in this field. Through his work, including on anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis and autoimmune dementias, he has made a major contribution to advancing understanding of these disorders. His translational research has also laid the groundwork for diagnosing these rare diseases more precisely and for enabling affected patients to receive immunotherapeutic treatment at an earlier stage.

Einstein Berlin/HUJI Research Project

The research project Plasmon-Coupled Excitonic Arrays for Quantum Simulation, led by the three physics professors Kirill Bolotin (Freie Universität Berlin), Hadar Steinberg and Ronen Rapaport (both Hebrew University Jerusalem), investigates novel quantum systems in semiconductors in order to gain a better understanding of the behaviour of many interacting quantum particles. The project aims to bring together several current fields of research - including excitonics, nanoplasmonics and quantum simulation - on a shared experimental platform. At its centre are excitons, i.e. bound electron-hole pairs that are formed when light is absorbed. Using ultra-thin semiconductor layers and precise electrical control, the researchers seek to create ordered excitonic arrays. The goal of this ambitious research endeavour is to develop a solid-state platform that will make it possible to simulate complex quantum effects in a controlled way and to explore their potential for future applications more effectively.

Einstein Postdoctoral Grant

As an Einstein Independent Researcher, Ruben Gerrits will join Professor Dietrich Volmer in the field of Bioanalytical Chemistry at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin to investigate whether melanin has a role in climate change mitigation as a long-term carbon sink in soils. This dark polymer, which is produced not only in the skin of humans and animals but also by many fungi and bacteria, fulfils several environmentally relevant functions and is considered particularly resistant to decomposition. Ruben Gerrits will examine in what quantities melanin occurs in natural soils using a biomarker-based approach. The project is especially innovative because it focuses on a specific persistent soil organic carbon compound, whereas many existing climate change mitigation approaches primarily target inorganic forms of sequestration such as carbonates or soil organic carbon as a whole. In addition, the research aims to clarify which environmental factors promote the formation and accumulation of melanin and whether humic substances, which are important organic carbon stores in soil, may in fact originate from melanin.
 

Mahmood Soofi has been awarded an Einstein Independent Researcher grant at Geography Department of Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, where he will establish and lead an independent research group. His research addresses a central issue in nature conservation: how different priorities, dependencies and perceptions shape relationships in and around protected areas. Biodiversity conservation is a priority for many, whereas local communities often depend on natural resources for food security and livelihoods. In Cameroon, Dr. Soofi and his team will examine how these factors give rise to tensions among protected-area staff and local communities. Combining conservation social psychology and ecology, they aim to develop a novel interdisciplinary framework for analysing these dynamics and to test whether evidence-based training can bolster communication, trust and cooperation. The findings will inform more effective, equitable and socially just conservation decisions.
 

As the third Einstein Independent Researcher at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Irene Spelta is conducting research in mathematics, with a particular focus on complex algebraic geometry. She is investigating the Torelli locus, a central object in algebraic geometry that captures the relationship between algebraic curves and their associated abelian varieties. Her project aims to advance our understanding of the Torelli locus through the study of its geometric and arithmetic properties. The research is expected to provide new insights into fundamental questions in geometry and number theory, as well as into moduli spaces, with potential implications for algebraic geometry, number theory, and related areas of mathematics.
 

To further advance the internationalisation of Berlin as a research hub, the Einstein Foundation is receiving additional funding from the Senate, enabling it to support two additional researchers under the Einstein Postdoctoral Grant programme:
 

At Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Xinyue Cui is exploring, in the group of Einstein Professor Benjamin Judkewitz, how the brain coordinates competing basic needs such as food intake and communication. The project centres on how the nutritional state influences acoustic communication and which neural circuits control this adaptation. Dr. Cui, who moved to Berlin after graduating from Cornell University (USA), works with the transparent fish Danionella cerebrum, an organism particularly well suited for studying activity across the entire brain. The project aims to identify which brain networks are involved in this behavioural adaptation and how they influence communication between the animals. In this way, it aims to provide new insights into fundamental mechanisms of behavioural control that are also relevant to biomedical research.

Previously based at Harvard University, Jonathan Teubner is now working at the Faculty of Theology at Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin in the team of Professor Judith Becker on the question of how the German scholar Adolf von Harnack (1851-1930) shaped the study of early Christianity in the United States and Great Britain during the twentieth century, and what significance this legacy holds for the field today. The project focuses on how his ideas were received, developed further, or rejected at key institutions. It also takes into account the continuing criticism of Harnack's interpretations, in particular his thesis of a "Hellenisation" of Christianity and his sharp separation between Christianity and Judaism. The aim is to provide a comprehensive account of his reception in the English-speaking world while also developing new perspectives for the study of early Christianity.

Einstein Guest Researcher (Academic Freedom)

Under the programme for academic freedom, the Executive Board approved funding for one researcher at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The names and projects of Einstein Guest Researchers are, as a matter of principle, not disclosed for reasons of privacy protection.