First funding period

In 2008, Septomics - as a faculty-wide research centre of the Friedrich Schiller University Jena - had been successful in the competition “Zentren für Innovationskompetenz: Exzellenz schaffen - Talente sichern” financially granted by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF).

Septomics aimed to establish a novel research structure for integrated sepsis research in order to overcome the long-lasting stagnation in the field of sepsis research. To improve the molecular understanding of sepsis, Septomics was to combine basic research and clinical research and provided a translational, complementary and interdisciplinary research approach. This would lay the basis to develop innovative sepsis diagnostic and therapeutic tools.

Research groups

During the first funding period two BMBF-funded junior research groups

• NWG Fungal Septomics
  Prof. Dr. Oliver Kurzai, ZIK-funding 2009-2014
• NWG Host Septomics
  Prof. Dr. Hortense Slevogt, ZIK-funding 2011-2016

and one clinical research group funded by the Free State of Thuringia

• FG Clinical Septomics
  Prof. Dr. med. Frank Brunkhorst, ZIK-funding 2009-2013 (today: part of “Zentrum für Klinische Studien”)

were established. A W2 professorship with a tenure track option had been set up for the junior research group leaders. The Clinical Septomics research group was supported by the Paul-Martini-Foundation funding a professorship for clinical septic research.

During the first funding period, ZIK Septomics quickly gained central importance at the research site Jena. Thus, ZIK Septomics has been involved in all successfully granted collaborative research consortia in the field of infection research, i.e. InfectoGnostics, Center for Sepsis Control & Care (CSCC), SFB/Transregio FungiNet, InfectControl 2020, National Reference Center for Invasive Fungal Infections (NRZMyk). Hence, there are close connections between thematically related research projects.

In 2012, the Septomics building on the Beutenberg Campus was opened thanks to the financial support of the Free State of Thuringia. Since then, the building houses the two junior research groups Fungal Septomics and Host Septomics. In this way, FSU, UKJ and HKI are able to interconnect even more closely and to bundle scientific competences.