Foundation Supports Life Sciences Evolvement at JGU

The Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation is providing support for top level research specifically associated with the field of life sciences at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU), with a donation of EUR 50 million over the next ten years. The funding will be used to finance research in line with the institutional strategy that Mainz University had developed to submit to the 2012 Excellence Initiative by the German federal and state governments. The realignment of the Faculty of Biology, a key component of the life sciences at JGU, will therein play an important role, with internationally renowned scientists expected to be appointed and support specifically targeted towards young researchers. At the same time, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz plans to construct a modern Biology research building with support from the state government of Rhineland-Palatinate.

"This marks a further milestone on Mainz's route to becoming an internationally competitive hub for the life sciences and will enhance and elevate its profile in this field. Together we create conditions that will attract leading scientists to Mainz," said Otto Boehringer, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation, Rhineland-Palatinate's Minister-President Malu Dreyer, and Doris Ahnen, Minister of Education, Science, Continuing Education, and Cultural Affairs of the state of Rhineland-Palatinate.

The Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation donated EUR 100 million in 2009,towards the establishment of the Institute of Molecular Biology (IMB) and to fund its operations for ten years. The IMB will now serve as the nucleus around which the university’s faculty of Biology will be redefined, enhancing its international role and relevance.