Thomas Bosch appointed to prestigious international institute of advanced study CIFAR

Kiel zoology professor becomes a Senior Fellow of the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research

It is comparable in importance with the Institute for Advanced Study in Berlin (Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin), albeit on an international level: the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) unites leading scientists from various disciplines, to develop future solutions for global health, technological and environmental challenges. Around 350 researchers from 115 institutions in 17 different countries belong to this select group, which boasts no less than 18 Nobel prize winners since its founding. A few days ago, Professor Thomas Bosch, cell and developmental biologist at Kiel University (CAU) and speaker of the research focus “Kiel Life Science” and Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1182 “Origin and Function of Metaorganisms”, joined this community including many of the world’s best scientific minds, as a “Senior Fellow”.

The decision of the Canadian committee was based largely on Bosch’s groundbreaking research on the relationships between life forms, micro organisms and the environment, and his attempts to investigate the fundamental mechanisms of these interactions. As such, he is a global pioneer in the new area of metaorganism research, which focusses on the examination of life forms and microbes as a functional unit. “Thomas Bosch’s admission to this group featuring some of the most famous researchers in the world is not only a huge personal achievement, but also a great honour for Kiel University. As such, CIFAR has drawn on scientific expertise from among our ranks – a further confirmation that excellent research from Kiel has a place on the global stage,” said CAU Vice-President Professor Karin Schwarz, praising Bosch’s nomination.

His research is centred around the question of how organisms and the microscopic life forms they host have developed into a multi-organism unit during the course of evolution. Bosch will now also pursue this revolutionary approach as part of the CIFAR research programme “Humans and the Microbiome.” It investigates the mutual influences exerted on each other by the human body and its bacterial colonies. The long-term goal is the development of improved treatments for a broad spectrum of major illnesses, all of which are caused by a disrupted relationship between body and bacteria. In Kiel, this new area of research features particularly in Collaborative Research Centre (Sonderforschungsbereich or SFB) 1182 “Origin and Function of Metaorganisms”, of which Bosch is also the chairperson.

About the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR):
Since its founding in 1982, CIFAR has brought together leading international scientists, forming interdisciplinary research teams to take on the toughest scientific challenges facing humanity. Currently, there are 14 interdisciplinary research projects, focussing on areas such as life sciences and social and technological issues. The CIFAR research teams share a total annual budget equivalent to around 11 million Euro.

Contact:
Prof. Thomas Bosch
Zoological Institute, CAU Kiel
Tel.: 0431-880-4170
Email: tbosch@zoologie.uni-kiel.de