4.5 million euros for immune system research PhD programme boosts research into immunometabolism at TU Braunschweig and HZI

In March 2026, the Europe-wide PhD programme “UNLIMITED – Understanding Lipid Immunometabolism to Treat Disease” was launched under the leadership of Mainz University Medical Centre and in cooperation with Technische Universität Braunschweig. The project is funded by the European Commission with a total of 4.5 million euros as part of the prestigious Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA). UNLIMITED focuses on a highly topical field of research at the intersection of immunology and lipid metabolism.

“UNLIMITED” is designed as a pan-European doctoral network and comprises 15 PhD projects that are closely linked through shared scientific questions and coordinated training measures. Over the next four years, 15 PhD students from eleven European countries will complete a structured, interdisciplinary training programme. The network is complemented by national and international partners from industry. “UNLIMITED” strengthens European collaboration in immunometabolism and the training of early-career researchers in this dynamic field of research.

Professor Thekla Cordes from the Institute of Biochemistry, Biotechnology and Bioinformatics at TU Braunschweig has successfully secured a PhD position. Based in her Cellular Metabolism research group at TU Braunschweig and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI), it is located at the Braunschweig Integrated Centre of Systems Biology (BRICS).

She is a founding member of the European Immunometabolism Network and the EFIS Study Group on Immunometabolism. These two initiatives gave rise to the idea for “UNLIMITED”, which will in future promote intensive scientific collaboration at European level. Workshops for PhD students are also planned at TU Braunschweig.

“Our aim is to gain a better understanding of metabolism and to develop new disease treatments based on this knowledge. Close European collaboration within the framework of UNLIMITED is a crucial step towards this,” says Prof. Dr Thekla Cordes.

In addition, Professor Thekla Cordes was able to secure funding of 10,000 euros for the application under the MSCA Doctoral Network from the BEREIT funding scheme of the Zukunft Niedersachsen – Europaprogramm programme, which is run by the Niedersachsen Ministry of Science and Culture. These funds played a key role in the successful submission of the EU application.

About the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions

The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions are a highly competitive funding scheme of the European Union for the training of doctoral and postdoctoral researchers. The MSCA Doctoral Network comprises 149 doctoral programmes across the EU. The programme aims to equip researchers with new knowledge and skills across national borders by providing insights into various sectors and disciplines. The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions are among the EU’s most important funding programmes for the training and career development of early-career researchers and specifically promote collaboration between academia and industry.