MPI for Biology of Ageing

Hi everyone! 👋 We’re the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, and we’re passionate about studying the biology of ageing to help promote healthier ageing in humans. We’d love for you to follow us to keep up with our latest discoveries, insights, and events! 🧬🔬🧓🧑‍🔬 www.age.mpg.de/research

Fantastic news! 🎉 Anne Schaefer has been elected to @nam.edu for her pioneering contributions to neuroimmunology, microglia research and brain health. Huge congratulations, Anne! www.age.mpg.de/458840/Schae...

⏰ Only two weeks left to apply for a PhD at the CGA! 📅 Deadline: Nov 3, 2026 Completing your application takes time, so don't leave it until the last minute and start your application now! 👉 Ready to apply? Find all information here: www.ageing-grad-school.de #PhD #AgeingResearch #CGA

We’re excited to welcome the CGA Class of 2026! 🎓 Our 13 new doctoral students come from India 🇮🇳, the Netherlands 🇳🇱, Russia 🇷🇺, Germany 🇩🇪, Greece 🇬🇷, Spain 🇪🇸 & Sweden 🇸🇪. We’re happy to have you in Cologne and look forward to your ideas and discoveries! 💡🧬

That was #AHAcologne2026! 🚀✨ A huge thank you to everyone who made this event so special! @mpiage.bsky.social @unicologne.bsky.social Fotos: CECAD & MedizinFotoKöln/Christian Wittke

A truly wonderful way to wrap up the CGA Welcome Days! 💙💚 At our party, we shared an international potluck, faced a pub quiz that pushed us to our limits, and most importantly, were surrounded by the most incredible group of people. 🫶 Big thanks to our PhD reps for making this happen! 🎉

We're kicking off October with our traditional "CGA Welcome Days" for our new PhD students from the Class of 2026 and our five new CGA Master Fellows. We hope you all enjoy the tour around sunny Cologne today!☀️ @ageingbetter.bsky.social @mpi-metabolism.bsky.social @cecad.bsky.social

🌈🏃‍♀️ The MPI AGE Runners were back at the Run of Colours in Cologne! 30 runners took on the 5K or 10K – with lots of fun, laughter and team spirit along the way. 🥳 Congrats to Stefanie Kipschull (2nd in her category) and Frederik Eikens (3rd)! 👏 Proud of the whole team! 🌈❤️

🔬✨ Meet our CGA Host Labs – Part 5! Our final two groups: Hannah Scheiblich & Gabriele Zaffagnini 🎬 That’s a wrap! We’ve introduced all CGA Host Labs offering PhD projects in our call. 📅 Apply by Nov 3, 2026! 🔗 www.ageing-grad-school.de/phd/host-lab... @mpiage.bsky.social, @cecad.bsky.social

🔬✨ Meet our CGA Host Labs – Part 2! Today’s three groups offering PhD projects: Achim Tresch, Anne Schaefer & Marc Tittgemeyer 🎬 More labs coming soon! 🔗 www.ageing-grad-school.de/phd/host-lab... @mpiage.bsky.social, @mpi-metabolism.bsky.social, @cecad.bsky.social

🔬✨ Meet our CGA Host Labs – Part 1! This week, we're introducing the labs offering PhD projects in our current CGA call. Today: Jens Brüning, Zachary Frentz & Anna Poetsch. 🔗 www.ageing-grad-school.de/phd/host-lab... @mpiage.bsky.social, @mpi-metabolism.bsky.social, @cecad.bsky.social

Congratulations to Maxim Tobergte, postdoctoral researcher in the Jachimowicz group, on receiving the 2026 Stefan Jentsch Award from the German Society for Research on DNA Repair. @bjornschumacher.bsky.social @ronjachimowicz.bsky.social @cga-age.bsky.social www.age.mpg.de/457426/Maxim...

🌱 Two of our labs have achieved the highest My Green Lab Certificate rating! We are excited to share that the Schaefer/Frentz department and the Huppertz lab have received the Green rating - the highest level possible! 👏 www.age.mpg.de/456869/Green... @inahuppertz.bsky.social

🧠 What drives brain ageing and neurodegeneration? We're looking forward to welcoming Anne Schaefer from @mpiage.bsky.social to #BSRA2026 whose work explores molecular and epigenetics of brain ageing. 🗓️ 9–11 Sept 📍 Oxford 🔗https://bsra.org.uk/events/75th-annual-scientific-meeting-for-the-bsra-2026

Do you want to start your PhD at the Cologne Graduate School of Ageing Research in 2027? 🗓️ Don't miss our deadline: November 3, 2026. To help you get started with your application, our wonderful PhD students and faculty members have some tips for you in our short video. Enjoy! 🍿

🚀 Applications now open for the CECAD Postdoc Academy for Aging Trajectories! We are thrilled to share the first call for applications for our new CECAD Postdoc Academy for Aging Trajectories. www.cecad.uni-koeln.de/career/postd...

👨‍🎓We are super happy to share some great news: another successful PhD defense! Patrick Krüger from the CGA Class of 2020 has successfully defended his PhD thesis today! 🥳 Congratulations, Patrick! We are all very proud of you for reaching this important milestone.🎯

🚀 Apply now for 12 fully funded PhD positions at the Cologne Graduate School of Ageing Research! Join us and start your PhD in an international community at the forefront of ageing research. 🧬🔬 🗓️ Deadline: November 3, 2026 Explore the projects & apply: www.ageing-grad-school.de 📣 Spread the word!

📢 Publication alert New study from the @antebilab.bsky.social on Verheij syndrome, a rare genetic developmental disorder linked to defects in RNA splicing. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Wir starten unsere neue deutsche Videoreihe. 📽️ In der ersten Folge erklären wir einfach, verständlich und auf Basis aktueller wissenschaftlicher Erkenntnisse wie man gesund alt werden kann. www.youtube.com/watch?v=bTC_...

🎓 Excited to share that Anita Jopkiewicz, a member of the CGA Class of 2021 and Stephanie Panier's lab, successfully defended her PhD thesis! Anita, we are so happy for you and hope you’re enjoying this amazing feeling! 🎉💃 Wishing you all the very best as you embark on your next chapter. ✨

📢Open Call: We offer white space for up to 3 junior research groups in the CECAD Research Center Find more about the requirements and the application process on our homepage uni.koeln/LT8ZZ Please share this opportunity with anyone who might be interested.

What does it take to truly support PhD researchers in the best way? For @danielamorick.bsky.social, it starts with trust, listening, and creating structures where people feel safe to ask questions, make decisions, and grow. Check out the full interview here: www.age.mpg.de/455622/Inter...

🚀 Considering a PhD at the Max Planck Society? Join our free webinar on August 7 (1–3 PM CEST) and explore fully funded PhD opportunities at the IMPRS in NRW. 🎓 Discover our programmes, cutting-edge research, and ask your questions live! 🔗 www.ageing-grad-school.de/about-us/new...

🔬 Small microscopes, big curiosity! One of our colleagues brought our KinderUni microscopes to a local daycare centre, where children explored pond water and insects up close. Their excitement shows why outreach matters: science starts with looking, asking, and wondering. 💧 #ScienceOutreach

🎥 A look behind the scenes 👀 Research institutes aren’t just home to scientists - there are also many wonderful people working behind the scenes. We had a chat with Dennis Polat, who works in our warehouse and helps ensure that everything researchers need arrives where it belongs.

#Mitochondria limit coenzyme Q export under #cholesterol biosynthetic stress. New study from Marjana Ndoci (@mindoci.bsky.social), Thomas Langer, Soni Deshwal (@sonideshwal.bsky.social) @helmholtzmunich.bsky.social @mpiage.bsky.social and colleagues: rupress.org/jcb/article/... #CellMetabolism

👨‍🎓 We’re happy to congratulate Maxim Hützen from the CGA Class of 2022 for successfully defending his PhD thesis today—wohoo! 🎉 Maxim, we are so proud of everything you’ve achieved and we wish you all the best for your exciting next chapter! 😀

🎓 Big congrats to Mara Neuerburg @maraneuerburg.bsky.social from the lab of Joris Deelen @jorisdeelen.bsky.social for successfully defending her PhD thesis today. 🎉 Mara, we hope you’re as proud of yourself as we are. We wish you all the best for your next steps! 🫶

Stellenangebot! Das Schaefer-Labor sucht eine*n BTA (m/w/d)! www.age.mpg.de/job-cf7ab6db...

🏆 Congratulations to our CGA alumni members Aishwarya Acharya @aishacharya.bsky.social and David Meyer @meyerdh.bsky.social on receiving the Klaus Liebrecht Award 2026 from the University of Cologne for their outstanding doctoral theses! 🎉 We are proud to celebrate this well-deserved success! 👏🧬

🎓Reflecting on a wonderful graduate symposium: we shared some great moments with inspiring talks and opportunities to connect within our CGA community and beyond. Congrats to all our incredible students from the CGA class of 2022, and big thanks to the class of 2023 for organizing everything. 🎉🍾

„Was bedeutet der Begriff Longevity?“ – in 60 Sekunden erklärt 🧬⏱️ #longevity #gesundaltern #alternsforschung

Last week we said goodbye to one of the founding members of our lab. Birgit joined the lab as a postdoc @molgen.mpg.de & rejoined when the lab moved to the @mpiage.bsky.social. She did incredible science, served as our lab manager & trained generations of junior scientists. You will be missed!

"Was passiert im Alter in unserem Körper?" – in 60 Sekunden erklärt ⏰ 💡 #alterneinfacherklärt #gesundaltern

🎉 Celebrating our Amazing Women in Ageing Research! 🎉 Meet @stephalcantara.bsky.social, Minerva Fast Track Group Leader. 👩‍🔬 Steph studies muscle metabolism and ageing. #WomenInScience #AgeingResearch

"What happens to our bodies as we age?" – explained in 60 seconds ⏰ 💡 The idea, script and production are the work of Teresa Schiffer, our amazing and talented intern in the press and public relations department. #agingexplained #healthyaging

Excited to share our joint efforts on the ratioCitron biosensor platform! 🔬✨ www.biorxiv.org/content/10.6... Norito Tamura @mpiage.bsky.social from my lab enabled ratiometric citrate measurements in flow cytometry for population-scale, single-cell analysis.

🚨 Scholarship Alert! 🚨 🧬👩🏽‍🔬 Pursue your Master studies in Biology or Biochemistry in Cologne at @unicologne.bsky.social and get full funding with our CGA Master Fellowship programme.💰 📅 Apply by July 15! 🔗 Learn more: www.ageing-grad-school.de/master/maste...

🎓 We are happy to celebrate Lilli Pazurek-Weber from the lab of Thomas Langer for successfully finishing her PhD today. 🎉 Earning a doctorate is a great accomplishment, and we’re proud to share this special moment with Lilli and wish her all the best in her new role as scientific coordinator. 💪

Proteins: essential building blocks and molecular machines of life. But how can we tell how much is there? 🧬 🧐 In this episode of How to…, Lilli demonstrates how scientists measure protein concentration using Bradford solution – a dye that changes colour depending on the protein amount.

Together with @spanier55.bsky.social and Boris Pfander we put together a great program with support of @cecad.bsky.social Cologne, @mpiage.bsky.social and the Fritz Thyssen Stiftung. Meeting site: www.for-5504.com/en/197/Confe...

🎉 Celebrating our Amazing Women in Ageing Research! 🎉 Meet Hannah, a research group leader exploring the role of microglia in maintaining brain health, and investigating how their function changes during aging and in neurodegenerative diseases. 👩‍🔬 #WomenInScience #AgeingResearch

🌏 CGA Recruitment Week is just around the corner, and we’re looking forward to meeting the top 25 applicants from all over the world! But what actually happens during CGA Recruitment Week? And what other activities can our students enjoy once they’re part of the CGA? Find out more! 🎬

Our Gender Equality Officer hosted a screening of “Picture a Scientist” and a panel discussion to mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. A big thank you to our panel - Tatiana Korotkova, Orsolya Leidecker, Isabelle Schiffer, Ph.D, Anne Schiffmann and Philipp Wronker!

Job Alert! The Sprenger Lab is looking for a Postdoc! www.age.mpg.de/job-9f350f6e...

Proteins: the tiny molecular machines that run our cells. But how do we see them? 🧬 In this episode of How to…, Lilli shows step by step how scientists separate proteins by size and detect them using antibodies – a technique called western blotting.

Ever wondered how we keep precious cell cultures alive for months without them growing out of control? ❄️ In this How to… episode, PhD student Lilli Pazurek Weber takes you into the cell culture, showing how to prepare cells for long term storage in liquid nitrogen. 📅 Follow for weekly lab skills

Curious what really happens behind our lab doors? “How to” is our new series where PhD student Lilli walks through the nuts and bolts of everyday experiments - from freezing cells to running a western blot.

🚨 Wir suchen Dich! Starte eine Ausbildung als Tierpfleger*in (m/w/d)! We are looking for you! Start an apprenticeship as an animal keeper (m/f/d)! www.age.mpg.de/open-positions

🚨 Job alert! The Fish Facility is looking for a student/research assistant (m/f/d)! Apply now! www.age.mpg.de/open-positions