Research Environment

Conducting research in the heart of Europe

IMB is embedded in a strong and dynamic research environment in the heart of Europe. Germany is one of the top places in the world to conduct research and is home to a number of excellent universities and well-funded research institutes. More information regarding the German research landscape can be found on the Euraxess website.

Local connections

IMB is located in Mainz, on the campus of the Johannes Gutenberg University, just west of the city centre. With 10 departments, 150 institutes and 38,000 students, Johannes Gutenberg University is one of the largest German universities, and the largest campus university in Germany.

In biomedical research, the University has built strong, interdisciplinary centres dedicated to neuroscience, cardiovascular medicine, immunology and oncology. The University Medical Centre, which is located near the main university campus, has a strong focus on clinical and translational research and has researchers who also work in close contact with IMB.

In addition to the University, IMB has two Max Planck Institutes (the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research) and Mainz’s University of Applied Sciences as immediate neighbours.

Basic research and industry in the Rhine-Main area

Mainz is also surrounded by a number of towns and cities with extensive research activities.

Frankfurt is only 35 km away and is home to Goethe University, which has a total of 38,000 students and 10 research institutes within the Biochemistry, Chemistry and Pharmacy departments alone. There are several Max Planck Institutes in Frankfurt (including the Max Planck Institute for Biophysics, the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research and the Ernst Strüngmann Institute for Cognitive Brain Research).

Nearby Darmstadt is home to both a Technical University, whose Department of Biology has a focus on synthetic biology and the biology of stress responses, and a University of Applied Sciences that includes a focus on biotechnology.

There is also an extensive industry R&D presence, with, for example, the headquarters of Boehringer Ingelheim and the Merck Group both in close vicinity. For an illustration of the strong research environment in which Mainz is situated please see the IMB research environment map found here.

Scientific career networks

IMB takes an active part in initiatives to promote and strengthen scientific research and collaborations in the region. These include:

The Mainzer Wissenschaftsallianz, which joins together academic and industrial research facilities within Mainz
The Dual Career Network, a regional scheme aiming to improve contacts between companies in the Rhine-Main area, increasing local opportunities for academic positions (PDF flyer in German)