News

From Research Idea to Start-Up

From September 7 to 10, 2026, the Center for Synthetic Biology at TU Darmstadt, in collaboration with Futury, will host the interdisciplinary Start-Up Summer School in Darmstadt and Frankfurt. Students, doctoral candidates, and postdocs in the fields of biology, chemistry, physics, materials science, engineering, computer science and economics, as well as related disciplines, are invited to attend. The Start-Up Summer School offers participants the opportunity to develop scientific ideas in the field of synthetic biology into viable Start-Up concepts.

Entrepreneurship as a third career option

For many life sciences students, the career path seems clearly defined: either academic research or industry. But there is a third, often less visible option—a career in entrepreneurship. This is precisely where the Nucleate Germany initiative comes in with its new event series, “Honestly Impactful: Role Models in Bio-entrepreneurship.” The goal of the series is to provide students and early-career researchers in the life sciences with concrete insights into the world of bio-entrepreneurship—and thereby open up new career prospects.

Hands-On Research

How can light-based technologies drive progress in medicine and research? Participants explored this question at this year’s Girls’ Day, which was organized by the Graduate School of Life Science Engineering at TU Darmstadt.

Interdisciplinary publication at the Centre for Synthetic Biology

How can cells be programmed to respond to complex signals and make targeted decisions, similar to a logical circuit in a computer? An interdisciplinary team from two research groups at the Centre for Synthetic Biology at TU Darmstadt has developed a new approach: an RNA-based genetic switch. The results were published in the journal Nucleic Acids Research.

There are strong role models for this in the Research Field Matter and Materials at TU Darmstadt

In the Research Field Matter and Materials (M+M), female researchers are working on key building blocks for our future – from investigating the smallest particles to novel materials and cellular processes. The mission of the Research Field M+M is clear: to understand fundamental relationships and use them to develop the building blocks for tomorrow's technologies.

Focus on Profile Topic Synthetic Biology

Under the motto “Synthetic Biology goes …”, the Matter and Materials (M+M) Research Field at TU Darmstadt hosted its third symposium. The event, held on October 21, 2025, at the Georg-Christoph-Lichtenberg-Haus, focused on current research activities in the field of synthetic biology and its diverse application prospects – from collaborations within the Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) to robotics, nanosystems and nutrition.

From idea to start-up

In September 2025, the 3rd ryon start-up summer school took place in Darmstadt, organized by the Centre for Synthetic Biology and the ryon GreenTech Accelerator. The program is designed for young scientists and aims to transform research ideas from the field of synthetic biology into groundbreaking start-up concepts. Participants gained exciting insights into the future of synthetic biology and, over five intensive days, learned how to develop a viable business model from an idea and ultimately present it in a professional pitch to a renowned jury.

The Center for Synthetic Biology at Darmstadt Technical University presented the 2024 Thesis Awards during the Molecular Biosensing Symposium (September 22–26, 2025). Each year, the center honors outstanding theses in synthetic biology with these awards.

The decision in the Excellence Initiative will be made soon

On Thursday, May 22, 2025, at around 5 p.m., the Clusters of Excellence that will be funded in the future will be announced. Among them is CoM2Life – Communicating Biomaterials – in which the Center for Synthetic Biology at TU Darmstadt is involved together with Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research in Mainz. All Hessian projects are currently being presented in a special edition of PROLOEWE News.

Retreat Reflections – Graduate School Life Science Engineering

Chemistry team of the TU publishes new drug discovery approaches

Ring-shaped molecules often have better pharmacological properties, but the development of these active substances is difficult. Now the working group led by Professor Felix Hausch at the Clemens Schöpf Institute for Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry at TU Darmstadt has shown in three publications how molecular rings can be built using a modular assembly and how this translates to better properties. This opens up new approaches, for example for the treatment of depression, obesity or chronic pain.

Vibrio natriegens as Auspicious Host for Plasmid DNA Production

Under the leadership of Prof. Torsten Waldminghaus, the Faculty of Biology at TU Darmstadt is leading a new international research consortium entitled “Vibrio natriegens as Auspicious Host for Plasmid DNA Production”. The project, funded by the BMBF's “Bioeconomy International” programme with around €500,000, brings together experts from TU Darmstadt, TU Munich (Prof. Bastian Blombach) and the University of Western Australia in Perth (Prof. Georg Fritz). Bielefeld-based PlasmidFactory, one of the world's leading suppliers of plasmid DNA, is an industrial partner in the consortium.

TU Darmstadt honours outstanding best-practice models

Since 2010, the Carlo and Karin Giersch Foundation has awarded the ‘Athene Prize for Good Teaching’ to individuals, groups or organisational units that have introduced exemplary and outstanding formats in academic teaching. The prizes are endowed with a total of 46,000 euros.

The TUDa iGEM Team is recruiting for 2025!

Are you a Bachelor's/Master's student and would like to experience a student-led laboratory and research project? Then iGEM is the right place for you! We invite you to our info session on 10 December 2024 at 5.30 pm in B101I52 to find out everything you need to know about participating in iGEM 2025!

12 Motivated students wanted for interdisciplinary study project

TU Darmstadt is taking part in the interdisciplinary student competition SensUs as Team TUcanSense. We are looking for 12 students (B.Sc. at least 5th semester, M.Sc.) from the fields of mechanical engineering, industrial engineering, electrical engineering, medical technology, chemistry, biology and all related courses.

Gold medal for innovative solution to combat oil spills

After a two-year break, a team from TU Darmstadt took part in the international iGEM competition again this year. And they were very successful: with their project to combat oil pollution, the students were awarded a gold medal at the Grand Jamboree in Paris and nominated for two Special Prizes.

Irem Ergenlioglu, from the Graduate School LSE, shares her experiences of her research stay abroad in London

ryon Summer School under the motto ‘From the idea to the start-up’

The 2nd ryon Start-Up Summer School took place in Darmstadt in October 2024. Participants had the opportunity to take a look into the future of synthetic biology. Over five varied days, the international participants learnt a lot about business models and how to develop a business model from an idea into a professional pitch deck in just a few days. This year's event focussed on biomaterials in the context of the ‘CoM2Life’ cluster project, which is in the running for a Cluster of Excellence in the renowned Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments.

ryon Rhine-Main-Universities Summer School 2024

From October 7 to 11, 2024, the ryon Start-Up Summer School in Darmstadt and Gernsheim offers the opportunity to help shape the future of synthetic biology and biomaterials. Under the motto “From idea to start-up”, a platform will be created to offer young researchers the opportunity to develop and realize new business ideas. The event is part of the “CoM2Life” cluster project, which is in the running for a cluster of excellence in the prestigious Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments.

Re-award of the DAAD Graduate School Scholarship Programme (GSSP)

Exciting annual retreat of the Graduate School in Kleinwalsertal

Graduate School presents itself in a video

In the “CoM2Life” cluster project, scientists from Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, the Max Planck Institute for Polymer Research and TU Darmstadt are researching intelligent biomaterials that will enable innovations in medicine such as tissue repair or the development of artificial organs. At TU Darmstadt, the Centre for Synthetic Biology is involved in the project. The International Graduate School Life Science Engineering, which is based there, also conducts research at the interface between biology and engineering.

FLOW FOR LIFE presents Humboldt Research Award winner Milica

The LOEWE Research Cluster FLOW FOR LIFE will host a Minisymposium “Biomaterials & Tissue Engineering” at the Georg-Christoph-Lichtenberghaus with Humboldt Research Award winner Milica Radisic from the University of Toronto on Wednesday, July 3rd 2024, from 13:30. Other speakers include Wolfram Zimmermann from the University of Göttingen, Katharina Landfester from the MPI for Polymer Research Mainz and Aranzazu del Campo from the University of Saarbrücken.

As part of the Centre for Synthetic Biology, a lecture by Prof. Marc Riedel will take place on 11.04.2024 at 15:00 in room S3|06 337 at the Department of Computer Systems. The title of the lecture is “DNA Storage: In theory, there's no difference between ”theory“ and ”practice“. But in practice there is.”.