The human P2X4 receptor plays an important role in chronic pain, inflammation and some types of cancer. Researchers at the University of Bonn and the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) have now discovered a mechanism that can inhibit this receptor. The results were recently published in the scientific journal Nature Communications and open up a pathway for the development of new drugs.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) is setting up a new Research Training Group (RTG) at the University of Bonn. Entitled “Entwicklung und Epileptogenese von Dysplasien im Zusammenspiel distinkter ZNS-Zelltypen” (“Development and Epileptogenesis of Dysplasias in the Interplay of Distinct CNS Cell Types”), the program for doctoral students will see early-career researchers investigate experimental approaches for treating forms of epilepsy that do not respond to existing treatments. The DFG is to fund the RTG to the tune of some €6.1 million over the next five years.

The Shanghai Global Ranking of Academic Subjects for 2025 was published yesterday and puts the University in the top 10 in Germany for 12—over half—of the subjects assessed. In five of these subjects, it has even made it into the top five.

Dr. Varun Venkataramani of the Faculty of Medicine at Heidelberg University and Dr. Niklas Klümper of the University Hospital Bonn have been awarded the Lisec Artz Prize for their outstanding cancer research. The University of Bonn Foundation and the University of Bonn Faculty of Medicine presented the awards to the two researchers on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) as part of the Cluster Science Days event held by the ImmunoSensation² Cluster of Excellence. The prize is worth a total of 15,000 euros.

Formally known as the European University of Brain and Technology, NeurotechEU is a consortium of top European universities formed to achieve advancements in teaching, research and innovation in the field of neurotechnology. Being a member of this alliance underscores the leading position the University of Bonn occupies internationally in one of the most dynamic research fields of our time. At the recent conference held in Spain, the Medical University of Innsbruck was officially inaugurated as the latest alliance member.

The German Research Foundation (DFG) is to provide €1.25 million in funding for a Reinhart Koselleck Project based at the University Hospital Bonn and the ImmunoSensation² Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn. The research team led by Professor Christoph Wilhelm, Professor for Immunopathology at the Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Clinical Pharmacology, plans to study how the body maintains its delicate balance with the intestinal flora during times of illness and hunger.

The University of Bonn is once again featured on the international “Highly Cited Researchers” list: According to Clarivate Analytics, the information service provider that compiles the list, a total of ten researchers are among the top one percent of the most influential in their field worldwide.

The Faculty of Medicine at the University of Bonn and the Research Institute for Medical Innovation at Radboud University Medical Center (Radboudumc) in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, plan to further deepen their international cooperation. To this end, Prof. Bernd Weber, Dean of the Medical Faculty in Bonn, traveled to the Netherlands for a two-day visit with a delegation of highly qualified researchers. The meeting followed the visit of Radboud University Rector Prof. José Sanders to Bonn earlier this year.