On July 5, 2025, HHU opened its doors for "Research Day," and we at SFB1535 MibiNet were there! With our hands-on experiment "Sweet Secrets – Why Even Fungi Have a Sweet Tooth," young and old researchers alike discovered how microbes process sugar. Learn more about our exciting work and the role of sugars in microbiology – from baker's yeast to the corn smut fungus Ustilago maydis!

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Fantastic Girls' Day! Explored "Fungi as a chemical factory" with enthusiastic young minds. Great questions & future scientists in the making! Hope to see them back at uni someday.

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A prime example of successful international collaboration is the recently granted research funding by the Human Frontier Science Program (HFSP). The project "1+1=1: Bioengineering synthetic symbiosis to illuminate how a microalga becomes an endosymbiont," led by Dr. Johan Decelle (CNRS-CEA Grenoble, France), Dr. Daniel Ducat (Michigan State University, USA), and Dr. Dietrich Kohlheyer (Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH), was selected from a multitude of high-caliber applications.

It is particularly gratifying that this collaboration was initiated through Daniel Ducat's stay as a Mercator Fellow in the MibiNet network at Heinrich Heine University (HHU). This highlights the importance of the MibiNet network as a catalyst for fostering long-term international research partnerships.

The funding, amounting to $ 400,000 per year over three years, enables the team to conduct groundbreaking research in the field of synthetic symbiosis.

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Tiny scientists, huge fun! Children at AWO Kita Ki.Wis explored the world of fungi with Dr. Terfrüchte and the support of MibiNet. Microscope, taste test & lots of fun! This is an excellent example of how to get children excited about science.

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