Fundamental Studies
Here you can find detailed information on the Studium Fundamentale events in the winter semester 2025/2026.
Monday | Tuesday | Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 08:15-09:00 | Prof. Dr. Joost Holthuis | Prof. Dr. Kerstin Bartscherer | Prof. Dr. Christian Kost | Dr. Marc Schulte | Prof. Dr. Jürgen Heinisch |
| 09:00-09:45 | Prof. Dr. Nico Dissmeyer | Prof. Dr. Sabine Zachgo | Prof. Dr. Arne Möller | Prof. Dr. Jacob Piehler | Prof. Dr. Michael Hensel |
| 09:45-10:15 | Coffee break | Coffee break | Coffee break | Coffee break | Coffee break |
| 10-15-11:00 | Prof. Dr. Susanne Menzel-Riedl | Dr. Felix Scharte | Prof. Dr. Roland Brandt | Prof. Dr. Achim Paululat | Mentor group meeting (optional)* |
| 11:00-11:45 | General introduction Prof. Dr. Joost Holthuis | Prof. Dr. Christian Ungermann | Prof. Dr. Chadi Touma | Prof. Dr. Florian Fröhlich | |
| 11:45-12:45 | Lunch break | Lunch break | Lunch break | Lunch break | Lunch break |
| 12:45-13:30 | Mentor group meeting (optional)* | Mentor group meeting (optional)* | Dr. Florian Fiebelkorn | Mentor group meeting (optional)* | Mentor group meeting (optional)* |
| 13:30-14:15 | Ly Lutte | ||||
| 14:15-17:00 | Mentor group meeting (optional)* |
*Individual arrangement of rooms and times within the assigned mentor groups with the mentor.
Seminar 1: 17.12.2025 | 8:00 - 12:00
Seminar 2: 18.12.2025 | 8:00 - 12:00
Vorlesungen
The Ars moriendi are two related Latin texts with advice on how to ‘die well’ according to the Christian commandments of the late Middle Ages. They were written in the historical context of the macabre horrors of the Black Death. The concept of a good and orderly (‘programmed’) death is also of crucial importance on a cellular level. Every second, millions of cells in our body commit suicide so that others can live. The lecture sheds light on how this process was first recorded by an ambitious young Australian student and subsequently developed into a highly dynamic field of research with enormous potential for the production of drugs against cancer, autoimmune diseases and Parkinson's disease.
Date: 13.10.2025, 08:15 - 09:00
Location: Lecture hall 35/E01
Today's molecular plant research is just as diverse, complex and multi-layered as, for example, basic medical research. What fascinates me personally are both the undisputed parallels between, for example, humans and plants at the molecular level and then again the blatant opposite, namely the completely different molecular ‘wiring’. In this lecture, which I am very much looking forward to, I will give examples of the many facets of current plant science and introduce you to some pioneering breakthroughs. Topics will include synthetic biology, gene editing and molecular farming in plants. I will also discuss the prospects of this research field in terms of agriculture, global nutrition and carbon capture.
Date: 13.10.2025, 09:00 - 09:45
Location: Lecture hall 35/E01
Regeneration research has made remarkable progress in recent decades and opens up promising perspectives for medicine. This lecture will give an overview of research on the basic mechanisms of regeneration in animals, from simple flatworms to mammals. We will also present current therapeutic approaches based on these findings, discussing both the opportunities and challenges of regenerative medicine. A particular focus will be on the role of stem cells and the tissues cultivated from them. The aim of the lecture is to convey an understanding of the current state of research and to arouse interest in this exciting field.
Date: 14.10.2025, 08:15 - 09:00
Location: Lecture hall 35/E01
As autotrophic organisms, plants create the basis for our life on earth with their enormous diversity and adaptations to all climate zones. The current rapid decline of species due to habitat loss, pollution and climate change reduces the stability of ecosystems and their ability to adapt to change. It is therefore essential to understand plant diversification and adaptation mechanisms: How do adaptive morphological and biochemical innovations arise in plants? What role does plant diversity play in food and resource supply, drug production, climate protection and mental well-being? Plant biodiversity - and gaining knowledge about how it is created and can be protected - secures our basis for life and a sustainable future.
Date: 14.10.2025, 09:00 - 09:45
Location: Lecture hall 35/E01
Food is the basis of every organism's existence. Nowadays, everyone likes to have their say when it comes to nutrition - and has very clear opinions on the subject. However, it is often not understood what nutrition is for and what is needed for what. In this lecture, we interactively address the importance of nutrition for metabolism and discuss the basics of nutrition using the example of humans. In this context, we discuss myths - about diets, vitamins, fats, proteins or various sugars such as honey or fructose. The lecture will bridge the gap between metabolism and cell biology.
Date: 14.10.2025, 11:00 - 11:45
Location: Lecture hall 35/E01
We are living in extremely exciting times. Major challenges are waiting for us to overcome them. Think, for example, of global warming, the loss of biodiversity, the increased emergence of antibiotic-resistant germs or global pandemics (e.g. Covid-19). Ecology and evolutionary biology play a central role in all of these problems. The good news is that, thanks to modern methods, we are able to understand the causes of these phenomena and thus combat them. In the lecture, current fields of work in ecology will be discussed and the main focus of the ecology working group will be presented: the emergence of co-operation.
Date: 15.10.2025, 08:15 - 09:00
Location: Lecture hall 35/E01
The development of drugs is closely related to concepts of biochemistry, structural biology and molecular biology. Typically, drugs act on proteins (or protein groups) that are activated or blocked by the interaction. A significant proportion of target proteins are embedded as membrane proteins in the double lipid layer that surrounds our cells. Before a potential active substance is ready for the market and can be administered to patients, it must be intensively tested and carefully characterised. The aim is not only to prove the efficacy of the newly developed component, but also to avoid negative effects or excessive side effects. In my lecture, I will go into the basics of drug development and place them in a biological context.
Date: 15.10.2025, 09:00 - 09:45
Location: Lecture hall 35/E01
Modules made up of a limited number of nerve cells, which are connected to each other via small, adjustable contact points known as synapses, act as computing units in the brain. These biological computing units differ in key aspects from their computer counterparts, the CPUs: they are strictly optimised for their task of ensuring the survival of the species in the real world; they react historically, exhibit a high degree of plasticity and can be modulated many times over. As a biological and evolutionary product, they also exhibit a high degree of variation and are susceptible to environmental and ageing processes, which gives them a certain unpredictability. At the same time, they are evolvable and error-friendly. The lecture will discuss how central aspects of the functioning of the brain and thus of ourselves and our thinking are determined by these differences and what consequences result from this.
Date: 15.10.2025, 10:15 - 11:00
Location: Lecture hall 35/E01
The use of animals for scientific purposes is often the subject of controversial and emotional debate in society. Unfortunately, a lack of knowledge about the background and contexts in the field of laboratory animal science often hinders the discussion and makes constructive dialogue difficult. The aim of this presentation is to present the relevant specialist information and the framework conditions and necessities for the use of animals in research in order to facilitate a critical discourse and a substantive discussion of alternative methods. Using examples from Osnabrück biology, insights into the use of laboratory animals in biomedical research will be given and an ethical consideration of their use will be included.
Date: 15.10.2025, 11:00 - 11:45
Location: Lecture hall 35/E01
In this lecture, we delve into the human psyche to understand how we feel, think and act, especially when it comes to the two topics of ‘sustainable nutrition’ and the ‘protection of biodiversity’. One of the aims of our group is to develop educational and information materials that motivate people to adopt more sustainable behaviour. Exemplary research and educational projects from our group will be presented in the lecture.
Date: 15.10.2025, 12:45 - 13:30
Location: Lecture hall 35/E01
The human body must constantly fend off attacks from pathogenic bacteria and viruses, but also from its own malignant cells. This task is performed by a highly differentiated immune system that has a broad arsenal of different defence mechanisms at its disposal. The basic principle of immune defence is the ability to recognise and specifically attack infected and abnormal cells. However, there is always the risk of damaging the body's own cells and tissue, which in the worst case can lead to autoimmune diseases. The lecture presents the possibilities and risks of this ‘defence with integrated weapons’ based on the basic principles of our immune system.
Date: 16.10.2025, 09:00 - 09:45
Location: Lecture hall 35/E01
Using selected examples, we discuss how genes control the development of a living being and thus influence the fate of every individual, whether plant, animal or human. Why are most of us born with two eyes, one nose, two legs, ten fingers and twenty-four ribs – and some of us not? Why do most of us stop growing in our teens, while others simply continue to grow? Does this also happen in animals? The genome makes us who we are. But how? And can we learn from animal models?
Date: 16.10.2025, 10:15 - 11:00
Location: Lecture hall 35/E01
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disease that leads to progressive muscle loss and paralysis. In addition to 90 % of so-called sporadic cases, mutations in around 15 different genes also lead to ALS. Genetic mutations, particularly in the SOD1, C9orf72 and TDP-43 genes, play a central role in the development of the disease. In addition, environmental factors such as heavy metals or toxic exposure are discussed as possible triggers. The influence of these genetic and external factors on proteins and lipids of the cells and how this can lead to the death of motor neurones will be explained. Finally, new research results and therapeutic approaches to delay the progression of the disease will be presented.
Date: 16.10.2025, 11:00 - 11:45
Location: Lecture hall 35/E01
Alongside animals, plants and bacteria, the kingdom of fungi is often underestimated. Apart from some edible and a few poisonous species, wine, beer and baker's yeast in particular have been used by humans for thousands of years. However, a large proportion of the world's carbon is also sequestered by filamentous fungi and they are among the largest living organisms. Most vascular plants are dependent on symbiosis with fungi. In our forests, everything is connected via their hyphae in the ‘Wood Wide Web’. After all, it is fungi that we will use in the future to generate energy from renewable raw materials and produce biodegradable building and packaging materials. Fungi have the greatest potential to save the world, if only we understand them correctly.
Date: 17.10.2025, 08:15 - 09:00
Location: Lecture hall 35/E01
From the moment we are born, our bodies are colonised by microorganisms, and remain so until the end of our lives. These microorganisms, mainly bacteria, form complex communities known as microbiomes. Microbiomes differ in different areas of our body, such as the skin, mucous membranes, or digestive tract. The lecture will introduce techniques for analysing the composition and performance of microbiomes, and the role of microbiomes in our nutrition and the development of our immune system. In addition, connections between microbiomes and diseases, and new microbiome-oriented therapies will be discussed.
Date: 17.10.2025, 09:00 - 09:45
Location: Lecture hall 35/E01
Guest talks
An insight into what makes studying biology in Osnabrück so special. From the former Professor of Biodidactics and current President of Osnabrück University.
Date: 13.10.2025, 10:15 - 11:00
Location: Lecture hall 35/E01
Felix Scharte studied life sciences with a focus on cell and molecular biology at the University of Osnabrück. In 2018, he began his doctoral studies in the Microbiology division under Prof. Michael Hensel, which he successfully completed in 2022. He then worked briefly as a postdoctoral researcher in the same research group and, at the same time, took on the coordination of the graduate school of the Collaborative Research Centre 944 in the Department of Biology. Since April 2023, he has been working as a scientist at the internationally renowned Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. There, he is conducting research in Felix Randow's research group on the mechanisms of cell-autonomous innate immunity – in other words, how individual cells can independently recognise and fight off infections.
Date: 14.10.2025, 10:15 - 11:00
Location: Lecture hall 35/E01
Interactive workshop on how AI can be used to support the development of important academic skills rather than undermine them.
Date: 15.10.2025, 13:30 - 14:15
Location: Lecture hall 35/E01
Marc Schulte studied biosciences at Osnabrück University, specialising in cell and molecular biology. In 2017, he started his PhD project at the Centre for Cellular Nanoanalytics (CellNanOs) in the Microbiology division of Prof. Michael Hensel. After completing his PhD in 2020, he continued working as a post-doctoral researcher in Prof Michael Hensel's group before taking up a position at Vanguard AG. As head of the laboratory for technical hygiene and hygiene conception, he has overall responsibility for the internal testing laboratory. He is also responsible for defining the cleanroom requirements and monitoring measures for all production sites as well as for defining the requirements and measures relating to personnel, workplace and room hygiene.
Date: 16.10.2025, 08:15 - 09:00
Location: Lecture hall 35/E01