About usFacts & Figures

The Centre for Organismal Studies Heidelberg emerged from the merger of the former Zoological Institute and the Heidelberg Institute of Plant Sciences and has been in existence since 2010. As a center, it is not affiliated with any faculty, but reports to the Rectorate of the University. The center is spread over 8 buildings on the Neuenheim campus and employs over 300 scientific and non-scientific staff. We are highly involved in teaching at Heidelberg University in the life sciences and are extremely successful in biological research, measured both in terms of funding volume and publication statistics.

Research Funding

Between 7 and 9 million euros in acquired third-party funds are typically available to COS Heidelberg scientists in addition to university funding from the state of Baden-Württemberg. Funding institutions include:

  •  German Research Foundation (DFG)
  •  Excellence Initiative of the German Federal and State Governments (ExIni)
  •  European Research Council (ERC)
  •  Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF),
  •  Boehringer Ingelheim Foundation
  •  Klaus Tschira Foundation
  •  Baden-Württemberg Foundation
  •  Manfred Lautenschläger Foundation
  •  many more

Coworkers

  • 16 professorships
  • 6 junior research group leaders
  • 28 state positions
  • over 200 third-party funded positions