Fields of action and organisation structure of the Cells in Motion Interfaculty Centre
© Cells in Motion

About us

In the Cells in Motion Interfaculty Centre (CiM), researchers from the fields of medicine, biology, chemistry, pharmacy, mathematics, computer science and physics join forces and carry out research relating to topics in cell dynamics and imaging – which is a research focus at the University of Münster. As a central, cross-faculty research institution at our University, our network brings together and supports researchers in this field, thus putting the concept of the Cells in Motion Cluster of Excellence – which received funding from the German Research Foundation from 2012 to 2019 – onto a permanent footing.

What we do

  • We carry out research into how cells move and behave in organisms. To this end, we employ and develop innovative imaging methods. Our network promotes collaboration between the fields of medicine, the natural sciences, mathematics and computer science – both within the University of Münster and with international cooperation partners. One important aspect of this collaboration is the combination of basic research and clinical research. What our network creates is more than the sum of our parts: We see ourselves as an incubator for new, interdisciplinary research topics and are committed to acquiring third-party funding for collaborative research projects. We also play a part in recruiting outstanding researchers.
  • We support researchers in their academic careers by means of interdisciplinary and international training programmes and continuing education. In doing so, we are always mindful of equal opportunity aspects.
  • We support researchers in making common use of imaging technologies and contribute to a sustainable further development of the research infrastructure at Münster University.
  • We promote and support communication between science and society on issues relating to cell dynamics and imaging, and we provide the public with active insights into our research, making knowledge accessible in a way that is easy to understand, yet, at the same time, sufficiently detailed.

Who we are

Any researcher interested in our subject area can benefit from what we offer and make his or her own contribution to shaping projects. Our community includes researchers at various stages on the career ladder from the Faculties of Medicine, Biology, Chemistry and Pharmacy, Mathematics and Computer Science, and Physics at the University of Münster and from the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Biomedicine in Münster.

Our network is managed by the Executive Board, which is elected by our members. The spokesperson is biochemist Prof Lydia Sorokin, and her deputy is mathematician Prof Benedikt Wirth. In addition, a variety of committees help to shape the work done by our network. The researchers on the Executive Board and in the committees work closely together with experts in science management and science communication. Working in transdisciplinary teams, we develop perspectives and supporting measures for science. In doing so, we exchange ideas with the University faculties involved, as well as with collaborative research projects and institutes in our scientific field.

Multiscale Imaging Centre: This is what our building site looked like in March 2020.
© WWU/Michael Kuhlmann

Where we are

We work in institutes and clinics located in various buildings on the life and natural sciences campus at our University. A future central meeting point for lectures, symposia or our General Assembly will be our new research building – the Multiscale Imaging Centre, which is currently under construction. Some of the working groups from various faculties, as well as our science management and science communication teams, will all be based there.