Open Call for available White Space in the CECAD Research Center

The CECAD Excellence Cluster on Aging and Aging-associated Diseases seeks independently funded research groups to join and support the highly innovative and successful scientific community on the Cologne campus. 

Today’s world is witnessing an ever-increasing number of older people. Aging is the primary risk factor for diabetes, cardiac, kidney, neurodegenerative, and skin diseases – among others. This dramatic demographic change poses enormous health and socio-economic challenges for societies, highlighting the urgent need to foster a healthy aging agenda.

The Cologne Cluster of Excellence on Aging and Aging-associated Diseases (CECAD) aims to unravel the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying the aging process as potential novel targets for prevention, early diagnosis, and treatment of aging-associated diseases. In our current cluster funding period (2026-2032) our research will address why individuals exhibit highly variable aging trajectories and disease risks as well as how environment, sex, and genetic makeup influence the interactions between different aging mechanisms to determine individual organismal aging trajectories (see also LINK). 

The CECAD Cluster of Excellence was founded in 2007 as part of the German Excellence Initiative organized by the DFG and is supported by strong partners: the University of Cologne together with its natural science and the medical faculties, the University Hospital of Cologne, the Max Planck Institutes (MPI) for Biology of Ageing and for Metabolic Research and the Helmholtz Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE). CECAD has become the largest hub for aging research within Europe bringing together basic researchers and clinicians having access to a wide range of model systems and state-of-the-art technical and translational infrastructure. As part of this infrastructure, the CECAD Research Center has been inaugurated in 2013.

Requirements for Applicants 

Independent funding of their research group by a competitive program such as the European research council Starting grant (ERC), the Emmy-Noether program of the DFG, the Max-Eder-Program of the German cancer aid, or the NRW-Rückkehrerprogramm.

Your field of research is in the field of aging or addresses questions or methods which clearly support and further develop the research program of CECAD.

What we offer

The laboratories in the CECAD Research Center offer basic equipment in a modern research facility with access to in-house core facilities including imaging, proteomics, lipidomics, bioinformatics, and in vivo research facility.

In 2026 we offer white space for up to 3 junior research groups. 

Our selection procedure

Our selection process is based on your submitted paperwork and an oral presentation at CECAD, where you have also time to meet our faculty.

How to apply & deadlines

The call is continuously open until the available space has been filled. 

To meet the deadline of the next ERC starting grant round we will organize a mini symposium on Sept. 2nd, 2026 where you can introduce yourself to the CECAD community. We aim to provide a decision on your proposal by mid September. If you want to participate in this symposium, please let us know by Aug. 9th at the latest, including a short outline of your research. Your full white space proposal documents have to be submitted by Aug. 29th. 

Please send your full white space proposal including CV, list of publications, motivation letter (1 DIN A4 page) and an outline of your research project and how it fits into CECAD’s research (max. 5 DIN A4 pages) as one pdf to the Administrative Coordinator Dr. Sibylle Grandel (sgrandel[at]uni-koeln.de).