Our mission
Living systems involve complex interactions across space and time at all scales and levels of analysis - from molecules to individual cells to populations of organisms. The aim of the interdisciplinary center 'Life in Space and Time' (IZ LIST) is to obtain a holistic understanding of the spatial and temporal interactions and dynamics of the building blocks of life - from intracellular molecular assemblies, cells in tissues, emergent properties of biological systems, migration of organisms, organismic interdependencies in agricultural settings, to social interactions among individual human beings and groups.
All living systems are constantly adjusting to environmental challenges, which leads to non-intuitive, complex stochastic dynamics in time and space that are difficult to grasp with traditional approaches. We firmly believe that unveiling the underlying mathematical, physical, chemical, cognitive, and social principles is essential to enrich our understanding of spatial and temporal processes in cells, organisms, and populations. Thus, the overarching goal of this IZ initiative is to bring together researchers and expertise from very different areas to foster interdisciplinary approaches that allow to determine spatio-temporal dynamics in living systems and their response to environmental perturbations.
Our interdisciplinary research foci are:
- Investigation and theoretical modeling of spatio-temporal dynamics at genomic, subcellular, cellular, and organismic level.
- Finding causality behind temporal fluctuations and spatial heterogeneity using stochastic approaches and a broad range of novel tools capable of addressing space-time issues at all scales.
- Bringing together studies of organismic interactions, environmental adaptations, behavioral monitoring, and breeding with molecular and cellular analyses, bracketed by mathematical modeling approaches.
The IZ LIST is driven by diverse natural scientists with a common passion for describing, and understanding life in 4D. As our group of researchers come from very different angles, the IZ LIST provides an essential platform to come together and integrate the various expertise and further fertilize it with ideas from outside sources. The IZ LIST further aims to provide a creative and fostering research environment for young scientists. As studying life in 4D is in many aspects based on recent technological developments or still emerging methods, it is important to train young scientists to become experts in this rapidly evolving field.