Study structure

  • Master's students on an excursion to Sylt

    Learning by the Sea

    Master's students on an excursion to Sylt (AWI)

  • MicroSys company visits

    MicroSys excursion to visit companies and check out prospective career options.

  • In the lab

    Analysing qRT-PCR data.

  • Bake-off

    The great mitochondrial bake off: from left to right: Olivia Masseck, Janine Kirstein, Kathrin Mädler and Rita Groß-Hardt.

  • DNA

    The blueprint of life on our skin! DNA tattooing on Campus Day.

  • Microbiology 101

    You cannot start early enough to become a scientist. Prof. Reinhold-Hurek shows school kids how to work in the lab.

  • Stem cell colony

    Stem cell colony that expresses the correct marker OCT4 (in green). The chromatin is depicted in blue (DAPI staining).

  • Lab work

    Mario Waespy at the bench

Facts & Figures

Duration: 2-year-program

Credits per year: 60

Language of instruction: English

Accreditation/ Evaluation: until September 30, 2024
according to the system accreditation of the University of Bremen by AAQ Swiss agency of accreditation and quality assurance.

Starting point for diverse careers

The first semester is devoted to the basics of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology as well as state of the art methods and tools. This will provide the foundation for your subsequent studies. The BMB master program allows you to develop your individual profile by selecting different modules and lab rotations in our research labs. The previously divided studies Integrative Biology and MicroSys are replaced by a broader number of specific focus areas open for all students.

At the end of the first term, students can then choose their special focus in practical courses in the areas of the BMB mentors and instructors (see below)

  • Molecular Genetics
  • Plant genetics
  • Mitochondrial Interactions
  • Glycobiology
  • Glycobiochemistry
  • Diabetology
  • Translational Medicine
  • Neuro-Cell Biology
  • Neuroinflammation
  • Neurobiochemistry
  • Metabolism
  • Microbiology
  • Plant-bacteria interactions
  • Ecophysiology
  • Marine Chemistry
  • Botany
  • Biophysics

Degree curriculum

Modules D

The selection of three different practical courses among several different offered courses on hands-on research projects will provide you with a wide variety and specialization to design your own BMB profile.

Protein/Ligand Interactions

Atomistic Modelling of Biomacromolecules

Bacterial Genomics: Bioinformatics, Mutant Construction and Proteomics

Cell Physiology of Marine Organisms: Cellular Energy Budget and Metabolic Finger Printing

Functional Analysis of Bacteria-Plant Interactions: Transcriptomics, Advanced PCR Techniques and Bacterial Mutant Assessment

Functional Genomics of Marine Eukaryotes

Investigation and engineering of plant reproduction using state of the art gene editing tools

Molecular and cellular Virology

MRI and MRS in Biomedical Research

Plant and Fungal Transformation as Tool for Functional analysis and in vivo Visualization

Mandatory modules

Module AIn lectures, interactive seminars and laboratory courses you will acquire the basics in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.
Module area BHere you can already select on a specialization (Molecular/Cellular Biology, Biochemistry, Neurobiology, Geneticsor Microbiology) and get familiar with model systems, tools and techniques.
Module CIn this module you will first learn and then apply project management skills to organize and set up a class for BSc students to build and improve your teaching skills. You will also get a chance to organize the subsequent BMB symposium for you and your peers and get an introduction into the legal affairs of science i.e. intellectual property rights and patents.
Module EAmong all BMB labs you can choose 2 labs for your lab rotations to become a valid lab member in the respective lab for 2 months and work as scientist on ongoing research tasks. You will get the opportunity to present your obtained data as a poster presentation at the BMB conference.
Module FYou will learn how to draft and defend a scientific project proposal at the BMB symposium. For the project proposal you will first identify a biological question and then select techniques from the engineering or biophysical disciplines to address the problem.
Module GMSc thesis in one of the BMB labs.

Downloads

Who is who?

Dr. Christian Arend

His main research interests are the fundamental mechanisms of brain cells including astrocytes and microglia. The focus is on the effects of xenobiotics and drugs on transport processes and potential therapeutic substances to treat neuroinflammation. 

For more information: https://www.uni-bremen.de/en/dringen/lecturer

Frank Dietz is a member of the Kelm lab and is interested in mechanisms underlying non-classical and exosomal protein secretion.

For more information: Glycobiochemistry

We are enthusiastic about nerve cells. Our main goal is to understand cellular and molecular changes that underlie neuronal plasticity in health and neurodegeneration.

For more information: https://www.uni-bremen.de/zellbiologie

The laboratory of virus research works on the pathogenesis (processes leading to disease) of viral infections and on the interactions between viruses and their host cells. The hepatitis A virus serves as a model, as it is suitable for the investigation of both general viral and virus specific principles and also for the investigation of hepatocellular viral replication.

For more information: Virology

The Dringen neurobiochemistry group investigates basic metabolic processes in brain and the metabolic interactions that take place between different types of brain cells. Aim of our studies is to improve the knowledge on metabolic processes in brain and to elucidate the mechanisms involved in disturbances of brain metabolism that have been connected to neurological disorders.

For more information: Neurobiochemistry

For more information: Microbial Ecophysiology

The Groß-Hardt lab explores the molecular basis of plant reproduction. Key research topics focus on cellular life and death decisions, the mechanisms that build and bypass plant polyspermy barriers and the biological significance of mitochondrial diversity. The team capitalizes on state of the art genetic and molecular engineering tools and collaborates with European leaders in plant breeding to bring their findings to application.

For more information: Molecular genetics

Tilman Harder Photo

The Harder lab studies chemically mediated interactions and processes in plankton communities, namely between microalgae and bacteria. We culture these microorganisms and study their performance, stress resilience, synergy and metabolic fingerprints. The reciprocal chemical exchange between partners is analyzed by instrumental analytical chemistry, including liquid chromatography, mass-spectrometry and nuclear resonance spectroscopy. The knowledge of chemical drivers of species interactions is useful to understand the susceptibility of these interactions and their ecosystem services under future climatic regimes.

For more information: Marine Chemistry

Andrea Krause is a member of the Reinhold lab. Her research interest is to decode the molecular mechanism responsible for the endophytic interaction of the nitrogen fixing Azoarcus olearicus BH72 with rice. The research topic focuses on the understanding of signal cascades involved in ethanol induced gene regulation in Azoarcus olearicus BH72.

 

For more information: Molecular plant-bacteria interactions

 

Our research explores how neural activity drives adaptive behaviors like learning, memory, and decision-making, sing multiple levels-from individual cells to neural circuits to behavior.

For more information: https://hassanlab.net/

The aim of the Islet Biology Laboratory headed by Kathrin Maedler is to establish novel therapies for diabetes, directed to regeneration, survival and function of the pancreatic β-cell; from cellular and molecular models to preclinical studies. Towards this goal, we have discovered the Hippo pathway as important regulator of β-cell fate and currently develop RNA-based therapies.

For more information: Islet Biology Laboratory

The Nehls lab investigates inter-kingdom communication requested for the establishment of a symbiotic organ and its functional adaptation to enable nutrient and metabolite exchange using poplar together with certain soil fungi as models. Technically spoken we have two research foci: transport processes and visualization of gene regulation and metabolism.

For more information: Botany

For more information: https://www.uni-bremen.de/en/biophysik/groups/radmacher

Biophysics/Atomic Force Microscopy

Prof. Barbara Reinhold-Hurek
Prof. Barbara Reinhold-Hurek

The Veit lab focuses on circuits neuronal communication. We are combining in vivo electrophysiology with Neuropixel probes, optogenetics and behavior to understand how different brain areas coordinate their activity and give rise to perception

For more information: https://www.veitlab.de/

Picture Mario Waespy

Mario Waespy is a member of the glycobiochemistry group of Prof. Sørge Kelm. His interest focuses on the investigation of the interactions and functions of glycoproteins on a molecular and atomic level by employing several protein biochemical and instrumental analytical methods.

For more information: Glycobiochemistry

Examination and Admission Board

Prof. Barbara Reinhold-Hurek
Chairperson Prof. Barbara Reinhold-Hurek

Chairperson: Prof. Dr. Barbara Reinhold-Hurek

Additional Board Members