CHRISTIAN-ALBRECHTS-UNIVERSITAET ZU KIEL

Their core work

Kiel University is a major German research university with deep strengths in biomedical sciences, marine research, and advanced materials. Their H2020 portfolio centers on chronic inflammatory diseases, microbiome science, neurodegenerative disorders, and translational clinical research — often bridging fundamental biology with clinical application. They also maintain significant activity in marine environmental science (plastic pollution, marine ecosystems, submarine hazards) and materials physics including graphene and molecular spintronics. Their work spans from large multi-center clinical trials to fundamental cell biology and geochemistry.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

In the early H2020 period (2015–2018), CAU focused heavily on neurodegenerative disease research — particularly Parkinson's disease, iron chelation therapy, and neuroprotection — alongside fundamental geochemistry and materials science (graphene, skyrmions). By the later period (2019–2021), their emphasis shifted markedly toward microbiome research, bioinformatics, liquid biopsy diagnostics, and wearable health monitoring, reflecting a broader move from single-disease clinical approaches to data-driven, systems-level biomedical science. Their marine and environmental work remained steady throughout.

CAU is moving toward data-intensive, systems-level biomedical research — microbiome analytics, liquid biopsy, and wearable diagnostics — making them a strong partner for digital health and precision medicine consortia.

How they like to work

CAU operates as both a capable consortium leader (coordinating 21 of 78 projects, ~27%) and a reliable large-consortium partner. With 908 unique partners across 50 countries, they function as a major European networking hub rather than a closed research group. Their willingness to join very large consortia (Graphene Flagship, multi-center clinical trials) alongside coordinating mid-scale projects shows flexibility — they can lead focused research or contribute specialized expertise to flagship initiatives.

CAU has collaborated with 908 distinct organizations across 50 countries, making them one of the most broadly connected German universities in H2020. Their network spans all of Europe with particularly strong ties in health research and marine science communities.

What sets them apart

CAU's distinctive strength lies in combining deep clinical medicine expertise (inflammation, neurodegeneration, pain) with strong marine and environmental research — a combination driven by Kiel's dual identity as a medical university and a Baltic coastal research center. Their SYSCID project demonstrates an unusual ability to coordinate large-scale systems medicine efforts that integrate genomics, microbiome data, and clinical cohorts. For consortium builders, CAU offers rare cross-domain credibility: they can contribute meaningfully to both a health-focused project and an ocean sciences call.

Highlights from their portfolio

• SYSCID
  Largest coordinated project (€2.85M) applying systems medicine to chronic inflammatory disease across rheumatology, gastroenterology, and microbiome research.
• FAIR-PARK-II
  Multi-center clinical trial testing iron chelation as disease-modifying therapy for Parkinson's — CAU involved both as participant and third party, indicating deep clinical involvement.
• DECOR
  Unexpected humanities project (€2M, coordinator) on decorative arts in Roman Italy — reveals breadth beyond STEM and strong ERC-level research capacity across disciplines.