(Information in Deutsch: Gemeinsame Fachgruppe Chemische Biologie)

Joint Working Group Chemical Biology

The elucidation and modulation of molecular biological processes, including the interactions and functions of proteins, by employing 'chemical tools' (e.g. small molecules) is the principal task of Chemical Biology.
On May 10th, 2005 the Society for Chemical Engineering and Biotechnology (DECHEMA e.V.), the German Pharmaceutical Society (DPhG e.V.), the Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM e.V.), and the German Chemical Society (GDCh e.V.) founded the Joint Working Group Chemical Biology.

Advances in Chemical Biology

Since 2005 the Joint Working Group has organized its Advances in Chemical Biology conference ('Status Seminar Chemical Biology' until 2018) and has contributed to the programme of scientific conferences of the societies. These were the topics of past Advances in Chemical Biology conferences:

• 2005 Meeting European BioPerspectives
• 2006 IPRs in the Era of High-Throughput Research and Electronic Communication
• 2007 From Total Synthesis to Therapeutic Strategies
• 2008 Chemical Biology in Europe: Research Across Disciplines and Countries
• 2009 Natural Products and Nucleic Acids Serving as Chemical Tools
• 2011 Biologically Active Peptides & Chemical Systems Biology
• 2013 Compound & Target Identification (partner countries A,CH)
• 2014 MedChem, Post-Translational Modifications & Glycobiology (partner countries F,NL,B)
• 2015 Applied Structural biology, Biomaterials and polymers in chemical biology, Diversity and target oriented synthesis concepts (partner country GB)
• 2016 PPI, Phenotypic screening, Natural Products
• 2017 Part of German Peptide Symposium, Erlangen
• 2018, 2019, 2021 Advances in Chemical Biology

Some Advances in Chemical Biology conferences included tutorial workshops on these topics:

• Good Practice in Developing (Cell-based) Assays
• Case Studies in Modern Medicinal Chemistry
• Drug discovery - Today's success and tomorrow's hope
• Target Identification
• Small molecule drug discovery - an introductory course
• Cancer immunotherapy

The Joint Working Group also supports efforts to initiate national and European interdisciplinary networks and research programs in Chemical Biology like EU-OPENSCREEN.

Richard Willstätter Prize for Chemical Biology

The Richard Willstätter Prize for Chemical Biology honours outstanding long-time achievements of an established scientist, whose interdisciplinary work decisively contributed to a deeper understanding of chemical-biological processes. The German Chemical Biology Lectureship is awarded to young scientists working outside Germany whose original and creative approaches are stimulating research in chemical biology.

Steering Committee

Nine colleagues are serving on the board 2018-2021:

• Prof. Dr. Christian Becker (Uni Wien)
• Prof. Dr. Felix Hausch (TU Darmstadt)
• Prof. Dr. Ute Hellmich (FSU Jena)
• Prof. Dr. Maja Köhn (Uni Freiburg)
• Dr. Franz von Nussbaum (Nuvisan ICB GmbH, Berlin)
• Prof. Dr. Pierre Stallforth (Leibniz-Institut für Naturstoff-Forschung und Infektionsbiologie, Hans-Knöll-Institut, HKI, Jena)
• Prof. Dr. Olalla Vázquez (Uni Marburg)
• Prof. Dr. Oliver Werz (Uni Jena)
• Prof. Dr. Ludger Wessjohann (ITB Halle)

They represent biology, chemistry and pharmacology and are delegates of the four societies.

Membership

Members of the societies can join the Joint Working Group Chemical Biology without additional fees. Please download the application form (in German)