LEIBNIZ-INSTITUT FUR ALTERNSFORSCHUNG - FRITZ-LIPMANN-INSTITUT EV (FLI) LEIBNIZ INSTITUTE ON AGING - FRITZ LIPMANN INSTITUTE EV (FLI)

Their core work

The Fritz Lipmann Institute (FLI) is a Leibniz Association research centre in Jena, Germany, dedicated to understanding the biological mechanisms of aging. Their work spans molecular and cellular aging processes — including autophagy, senescence, and neurodegeneration — with the goal of identifying therapeutic targets for age-related diseases, particularly cardiovascular conditions. They also contribute to cancer pathway modeling, connecting aging biology with oncology research. As a training-oriented institute, they invest in building the next generation of aging biology researchers through structured doctoral and postdoctoral programmes.

What they specialise in

How they've shifted over time

FLI's earliest H2020 involvement (2016) centred on computational cancer biology through the large CanPathPro project, which carried no aging-specific keywords. From 2019 onward, the institute shifted decisively toward its core mission — aging research — with projects on autophagy, neurodegeneration, senescence, and cardiovascular aging. This trajectory suggests FLI used its early H2020 participation to contribute cancer expertise broadly, then refocused EU-funded work on aging mechanisms and training, aligning more tightly with its institutional mandate.

FLI is consolidating around translational aging research — expect future projects at the intersection of cellular senescence, neurodegeneration therapeutics, and cardiovascular aging.

How they like to work

FLI participates exclusively as a partner, never as coordinator, which is typical for a mid-sized Leibniz institute contributing deep specialist knowledge to larger consortia. With 28 unique partners across 12 countries from just 3 projects, they work in broad, international consortia rather than small focused teams. This means they are comfortable operating within large multi-partner structures and bring domain expertise without requiring project leadership overhead.

FLI has built a network of 28 partners across 12 countries through just 3 projects, indicating participation in large European consortia. Their collaborative footprint is broad for their project count, suggesting they are well-connected within the aging and biomedical research community across Europe.

What sets them apart

FLI is one of the few European research centres entirely dedicated to the biology of aging, giving it a focused depth that generalist biomedical institutes cannot match. Their combination of molecular aging expertise (autophagy, senescence) with disease-oriented work (neurodegeneration, cardiovascular aging) makes them a natural partner for anyone building a consortium around age-related health challenges. Based in Jena's strong life sciences cluster, they also bring structured training capacity in aging biology — valuable for MSCA and Widening projects.

Highlights from their portfolio

• CanPathPro
  Largest project by far (EUR 1.8M to FLI), building a predictive cancer pathway modeling platform — shows computational biology capability beyond their aging core.
• SAND
  MSCA-ITN training network on autophagy and neurodegeneration — directly aligned with FLI's institutional mission and demonstrates their role in training early-career researchers.
• RESETageing
  CSA project on healthy aging combining cardiovascular disease, tissue engineering, and senescence research with a Widening Participation dimension.