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Biological membranes are composed of a multitude of different lipids, steroids and proteins, which are assembled in a highly dynamic two-dimensional bilayer structure. It still remains unclear why so many different lipid components exist and how they are organized in the context of membrane proteins that are required for particular cellular functions. It has been suggested that i) a tight spatial and temporal organization of proteins and lipids within membrane nanodomains defines their distinct molecular neighborhood and thereby determines specialized cellular functions and ii) that the complex molecular interplay within a given nanodomain determines precise signaling behavior in time and subcellular space, thus protecting cells from uncontrolled, detrimental signal spread. Despite their high relevance, the analysis of functional membrane nanodomains remains technically demanding, explaining why fundamental physicochemical concepts of their organization are lacking and why their functions are only poorly understood.



The objective of this Courant Research Center is to establish a multidisciplinary research environment, which will unravel the intricate interplay of lipids and proteins, the architecture of membrane nanodomains, and their function and malfunction by using a concerted approach from chemistry, physics, biology, and medicine. By harnessing recent advances in experimental and theoretical methods, we plan to study the chemical design, molecular organization, biophysical properties, and complex dynamics of membrane nanodomains to understand their role in physiology and disease. This will lead to a more general and comprehensive understanding of the membrane architecture-function relationships that govern biological systems. The planned Courant Research Center will strengthen existing and novel research activities in lipid chemistry, membrane biophysics, soft-matter and statistical physics, and biomedical research, thus integrating scientific activities across the natural science faculties at the Göttingen Research Campus.