MERCUR Funds Two New Cooperative Research Projects
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The Mercator Research Center Ruhr (MERCUR) is funding two new cooperative research projects within the University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr), involving scientists from TU Dortmund University. The funding amount is approximately half a million euros. The participating researchers use the MERCUR funding to establish long-term co-operations within the UA Ruhr. The Stiftung Mercator provides just under half of the funding, while the universities contribute the remaining part proportionally.
“Synthetic Nucleic Acid Systems”
In the MERCUR project “Synthetic Nucleic Acid Systems”, scientists from the fields of Chemical Biology, Cell Biology, and DNA Nanotechnology from TU Dortmund University and the University of Duisburg-Essen will jointly research functional nucleic acid systems. Their aim is to create an experimental and knowledge-based foundation for the joint exploration of these systems and, in doing so, to observe and influence nucleic acid-protein interactions at the molecular and cellular levels. The targeted use of chemical modifications is intended to provide access to new therapeutic approaches and molecular biology tools. The project will thus create an important foundation for further interdisciplinary and collaborative research.
On the part of TU Dortmund University, Prof. Guido Clever, Prof. Daniel Summerer, and Prof. Hannes Mutschler from the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, as well as Prof. Britta Trappmann from the Dortmund Life Science Center (DOLCE), are involved. They will collaborate with Prof. Markus Kaiser, Prof. Hemmo Meyer, and Dr. Barbara Saccà from the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) to deepen interdisciplinary research on functional nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA. The funding amount is approximately 400,000 euros.
“Regional Structural Change and Labor Markets”
In the research project “Regional Structural Change and Labor Markets”, scientists from TU Dortmund University and UDE investigate how the transformation of spatial economic structures in Germany affects regional labor markets. The aim of the co-operation is to better understand the impact of structural change, particularly on the labor supply side of (regional) labor markets. The research focuses on the varying elasticity of labor supply, which varies across regions and occupational groups. To determine how regional differences and trends affect regional labor markets, the scientists conduct a theoretically science-based, empirical analysis. This aims not only to provide a better understanding of current labor market trends, such as declining wage inequality, but also to illustrate counterfactual analyses for the quantification and projection of medium- and long-term developments in regional labor markets. For this purpose, the researchers in the MERCUR project combine insights into the theoretical modeling of regional labor supply with data from the German labor market provided by the Institute for Employment Research (IAB).
Participants in the collaborative research project include Prof. Michael J. Böhm from the Department of Business and Economics at TU Dortmund University and Prof. Jens Wrona from the University of Duisburg-Essen. The funding amount for their project is approximately 100,000 euros.
The University Alliance Ruhr
Since 2007, Ruhr University Bochum, TU Dortmund University, and the University of Duisburg-Essen have been working closely together under the umbrella of the University Alliance Ruhr (UA Ruhr). By pooling their strengths, the performance of the partner universities is systematically expanded. Operating under the motto “better together”, there are now over 100 co-operations in research, teaching, and administration. With more than 120,000 students and nearly 1,300 professors, the UA Ruhr is one of the largest and most powerful science locations in Germany.