latin america

DAAD/ VOLKER LANNERT2

Summary
Welcome....................................................................5
Outline and perspectives for German
collaboration with Latin America................................6
The DFG.....................................................................8
Fostering international research collaboration............9
Our partners in Latin America...................................10
Funded projects........................................................12
Argentina.......................................................12
Brazil..............................................................14
Chile...............................................................18
Colombia........................................................20
Costa Rica......................................................24
Ecuador..........................................................28
Mexico...........................................................30
Funding international research.................................34
Research marketing and promotion..........................36
Liaison scientists in Latin America.............................38
Contact....................................................................40

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WELCOMEWith the outbreak of the COVID-19-pandemic, the importance of academic
cross-border cooperation has become greater than ever before. Yet, theneed to collect data, share scientific findings and develop research agendas
in international teams extends well beyond the pandemic. Challenges
such as scarcity of resources and migration, loss of biodiversity, climate
and environmental changes are increasingly global challenges. Thus,
collaboration across national borders, cooperation between the brightest
minds, the transnational operation of major research infrastructures andthe diversity of cultures represented in a scientific working group offer
immense potential to answer the burning questions of our time.
In fact, the internationalisation of science has become a societal, socialand cultural value. It occurs at all these levels, by way of a discourse onquestion and problem horizons as well as through mutual examinationof knowledge traditions and research practices. It is thus instrumental inenabling freedom of research across borders. For this reason, the DFG has
enshrined the promotion of internationalisation in its statutes, is involved ininternational organisations and is represented by its offices abroad.

prof. dr. katja becker

President of the DFG

Cooperation with scientific institutions and research-funding agencies
in Latin America has become one of the DFG’s strategic priorities. Thispublication is intended to shed light on the wide range of successful
research collaborations between Germany and Latin America and to invite
for new ideas and more in-depth dialogue.
I wish you an inspiring read!

5Outline andperspectives forGerman collaboration
with Latin America“Together with our Latin
American partners, wewill continue our active
commitment to developing
strategic researchcollaborations”

6

We are delighted to provide you withthis brochure, which is designed to offer aclear overview of the scientific cooperation
promoted by the DFG in Latin America.
Read on to gain insights into theevolution and status of cooperation as awhole, find out which research fundingorganisations in Latin America are currently
collaborating with the DFG and take a lookat just a few of the joint projects underway
between researchers from Latin America andGermany. These examples of joint initiatives
serve as a small demonstration of the quality,
robustness and vigour of cooperation
between scientists and research institutions
that has developed over the years.
The
coronavirus
pandemichas
reinforced how important international andinterdisciplinary scientific cooperation is for thedevelopment of global science. In many projects
included in this publication, you will noticethat scientific cooperation is not only bilateral,but multilateral. There is a long tradition ofresearch collaboration between Latin America
and Germany, which has evolved significantly
since its inception. Whereas centuries andeven only decades ago, interest in cooperation
was still driven by an often one-sided desireof European researchers to discover the “NewWorld”, this has changed over time with therecognition that a purely Eurocentric view
cannot lead to real insight, understanding andpartnership between the two regions.
Over the last two decades, Latin
America’s scientific potential has growncontinuously and the region has become
increasingly significant at the international
level. This especially applies to those Latin
American countries that set up advanced
research funding structures, providing
an excellent basis for international
collaboration.
The growing interest in cooperation
between the research communities inGermany and Latin America reflects thesedevelopments. The DFG appointed liaison
scientists in Brazil and Chile in 2006, andin Mexico in 2011. These efforts enabledthe DFG to strengthen relations with Latin
American funding organisations and toestablish an office in São Paulo in 2011
to represent the DFG throughout Latin

America. It is housed at the German Centre
for Research and Innovation (DWIH) São
Paulo. It was created precisely to support
communication between Latin Americanand German scientists and establish funding
instruments together with partner agencies.
Today, quality-driven research cooperation
between Germany and Latin America ispossible in all fields of knowledge and takes
its inspiration from a wide range of academic
and cultural backgrounds. Together with ourLatin American partners, we will continue ouractive commitment to developing strategic
research collaborations and will broaden
our joint initiatives to gain new knowledge
inspired by both continents.

dr. dietrich halm

Director
International
Cooperation with
Latin America

dr. christina peters

Director
DFG Office Latin
America

Based at the German Centre for
Research and Innovation (DWIH)
São Paulo, the office serves as a central
point of contact for researchers in Latin
America.
© DFG/Nando Costa

7

THE DFG
The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German
Research Foundation) is the central self-governing
research funding organisation in Germany. Its mission
is to promote curiosity-driven research.
The DFG serves all branches of science, engineeringand humanities by funding research projects atuniversities and other research institutions. It promotes
excellence by selecting the best research projects
through transparent, competitive processes andactively encourages interdisciplinary and international
cooperation. The DFG is particularly committed tosupporting researchers who are at an early stage
in their career and gender equality in science andacademia.
In organisational terms, the DFG is legally registeredas a private association. Its members are German
universities, research institutions, scientific associations
and the academies of science. The DFG has an annual
budget of about 3.3 billion euros, primarily from theGerman federal and state governments.
With

officesPaulo, Washington DC,
York, San Francisco,
New Delhi and Tokyo, as well as the Sino-German
Centre for Research Promotion in Beijing, the DFG
has expanded its presence in other research regions
around the world in recent years.
Moscow

8in

The DFG Office Latin America in São PauloThe mission of the DFG Office Latin America is to strengthen andenhance cooperation in the region. Our main objectives and activities
are:to be a contact point
for researchers aswell as scientificinstitutions and fundingorganisations in all
Latin American and
Caribbean countries;

to inform and advise
local and Germanscientists and research
institutions about
research opportunitiesin Germany aswell as possibilities
for international
collaboration;

to maintain andexpand strategic
partnerships with Latin
American fundingorganisations and todevelop instruments
for international
collaboration;

to initiate, organise andsupport measures topromote cooperation,such as internationalseminars, workshops orconferences;to provide special
support to early career
researchers throughseminars, consultationand events in close
collaboration with key
German and foreign
stakeholders;to monitor and analyse
developments in scientificand research policy in
Latin American countries,
thereby stimulating the
dialogue between German
and Latin American
researchers, as well as
research and fundingorganisations.

São(2003-2022), New

FOSTERING INTERNATIONALRESEARCH COLLABORATION
Developing and maintaining strategic
partnerships with funding organisationsin Latin American countries is one of the
DFG’s key activities in Latin America. Our
central aim here is to promote researchcollaborations between Latin Americanand German researchers on specific topics
of interest with potential for cooperation.
We develop our joint funding schemes
in close consultation with our partnerorganisations. These schemes are mostly
based on the principle of matchingfunds, which guarantees shared successand the mutual responsibility of allorganisations involved.
Over recent years, the DFG has launchedjoint calls for the submission of research
proposals in various scientific areas,developed common long-term funding
schemes with specific funding organisationsin Latin America and promoted researchcollaboration by jointly funding workshops
and strategic research events.
These efforts have resulted in a wide rangeof bilaterally funded research projects andinitiatives, ranging from support for research
visits and workshops to grants for individual
joint projects to the establishment of large
research consortia.
By offering such flexible funding programmes
for international collaboration, the DFG
successfully finances research projectsof scientific excellence in various fields
of knowledge in cooperation with thefunding organisations of a number of Latin
American countries.
You can find out more about the DFG’spartner organisations in Latin America
and some of our projects on thefollowing pages.
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MEXICOOURPARTNERSIN LATIN
AMERICA
Funding of excellent crossnational research projects in all
scientific fields requires partnerorganizations with compatible
programmes and resources.

` National Council of Scienceand Technology (CONACYT)` Universidad Nacional
Autónoma de México (UNAM)

COSTA
RICA
COLOMBIA` Costa Rican National
Council of University
Rectors (CONARE)

ECUADOR` Secretariat forHigher Education,
Science,Technology
and Innovation(SENESCYT)The DFG has agreements for the
co-funding of research projects
and researcher mobility with thefollowing partners:

CHILE` National Research andDevelopment Agency (ANID)

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ARGENTINA` Ministry of Science, Technology andInnovation (MINCIENCIAS)` Universidad de los Andes (UNIANDES)` Universidad de Antioquia (UdeA)` Coordination for the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)` National Council for Scientific and Technological Development (CNPQ)` São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)` Rio de Janeiro Research Foundation (FAPERJ)` Minas Gerais Research Foundation (FAPEMIG)

BRAZIL` National Scientificand TechnicalResearch Council(CONICET)` Ministry of Science,
Technology
and Innovation(MINCYT)

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Funded projects | Argentina

Role of γδTcells in skinhomeostasis
and protective
immunity duringexperimental
dermatophytosis

12γδT cells are innate γδT lymphocytes that
reside in skin tissues and play an importantrole in the action against pathogens.
This international collaborative project isinvestigating the skin’s immune responses
to dermatophytosis and addresses howcommensal bacteria and pathogenic fungi
drive skin immune homeostasis. Many
studies show that human fungal diseases
continue to represent a major healthproblem all over the world, which mostly
affect children, the elderly and immunedeficient individuals.
Dermatophytoses are skin infections
caused by keratinophilic filamentous fungi.
They affect approximately 25% of the world
population, thereby representing the fourthmost prevalent cause of human disease.
Researchers in the field’s understanding of
the molecular pathways controlling innate
fungal recognition and antifungal responses
elicited by myeloid cells has significantly
improved. However, there is still little
knowledge about organ-specific adaptive
immune responses and the cytokine
networks that control fungal growth.
This project is based on strong
collaboration between scientists from
Argentina and Germany who had alreadybeen cooperating in this field for several years
before the project was submitted. “From2015 to 2018, some formal exchanges took
place between Hannover Medical School
and Argentinean universities interested in
immunology. These discussions were led by
Prof. Tim Sparwasser and Prof. Dr. Luciana
Berod, who are now both at University
Mainz in Germany”, explains Prof. Prinz, theGerman principal investigator of the project.
Using an experimental model of an
epicutaneous infection with Microsporum,
the scientists will monitor the antifungal
functions of specific cells, especially therole of dermal γδT cells. Furthermore, they
will study the microbial and metabolic
factors that modulate immune homeostasis
between immune cells and pathogenic orcommensal fungi of the skin.
The Argentinean research group,
led by the Dr. Laura Chiapello, brings its
extensive experience in the managementof pathogenic fungi and experimental
infections to the project. “They are theworld’s leading experts in the area”, says
Prof. Prinz. The German group, for its part,
offers its combined experience in γδT cellbiology and the in vivo study of immune cell
dynamics.

OVERVIEW
The project investigates the skin’s immune
responses to dermatophytosis and addresses howcommensal bacteria and pathogenic fungi driveskin immune homeostasis.
DURATION: Since 2020
SCIENTIFIC AREAS: Immunology
INVOLVED INSTITUTIONS:` Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf` Universidad Nacional de Córdoba
PARTNER ORGANIZATION: National Scientificand Technical Research Council (CONICET)DFG PROGRAMME: Research Grants

Illustrative photo© DFG/David Ausserhofer

WEBSITE: www.uke.de/english/departmentsinstitutes/institutes/systems-immunology/
research/

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BRAGECRIM

Funded projects | Brazil

4.0 smart connected
manufacturing model

The Brazilian-German
Collaborative Research
Initiative on Smart
Connected Manufacturing(CRI-SCMfg)
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The Collaborative Research Initiativeon Smart Connected Manufacturing (CRISCMfg) is a well-established GermanBrazilian engineering research network. It
is the successor of the former BRAGECRIM
Initiative. At its Annual Meeting in Piracicaba
in 2019, CRI-SCMfg was officially launchedwith four new projects. The main goal ofthis cooperation is to sustainably strengthen
the industrial sector in both countries
through basic and applied research and theexchange of knowledge and researchers.

Number ofpublications:

11“Both the BRAGECRIM and CRI-SCMfg
initiatives have had a major impact oncollaboration between Germany and Brazil,
starting with research and continuing withtechnology transfer for industries in bothcountries. The new CRI-SCMfg programme
focuses on the digitalisation of production
and industry 4.0. By doing research in thesefields, we intend to improve production
processes and increase the competitivenessof the manufacturing industry in Germany
and Brazil”, says Prof. Freitag, the German
coordinator of the initiative.
This international research programme
will contribute to providing new
knowledge on high-tech manufacturing
technologies in both countries, thereby
covering different strategic demands
and reinforcing existing capacities. As
an expected outcome, research on such
advanced production technologies will

accelerate progress on innovation andstrengthen local industries’ ability tocompete. Therefore, it will result insustainable development not only for theindustries of both countries, but for thewhole society due to its positive economic,
social, cultural and environmental impacts.
“Executing joint projects in the scopeof BRAGECRIM and CRI-SCMfg requires
several undergraduate, Master and PhD
students to be actively involved. Their
participation strategically supports thelong-term success of the Brazilian-German
research collaboration. By taking part in the
joint projects, students are able to receive
advanced technical training and improveother skills. For instance, I myself started
participating in BRAGECRIM back in 2006
during my first year as a PhD student in
Bremen”, says Prof. Frazzon, the Brazilian
coordinator of the CRI-SCMfg.

OVERVIEW
A German-Brazilian research programme
designed to generate technological knowledge
that contributes to innovative solutions and thus
improves the productivity, quality and sustainabilityof manufacturing companies’ operations.
DURATION: Since 2019 (CRI-SCMfg)
SUBJECT AREAS: Production management andproduction engineering
INVOLVED INSTITUTIONS: Over 30 Brazilian
and German universities, research institutes andindustrial partners
PARTNER ORGANISATIONS: Coordination for
the Improvement of Higher Education Personnel(CAPES)
DFG PROGRAMME: Research Grants
WEBSITE: www.smartconnectedmanufacturing.de

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Funded projects | Brazil

Sustainable
use of Brazilian
biodiversity:
Using linked
data for natural
product discovery(DINOBBIO)The DINOBBIO project investigatesthe challenges of building, managing andutilizing biochemical knowledge graphs(BKG) through semantic web technologies
and machine learning. It focuses on
researching new nature-inspired products
made from Brazilian biodiversity.
Worldwide, 67% of all approved drugs
are produced from natural ingredients orderived from one. When we compare thecountries that approve the most products
and the amount of natural resources
they possess, we find an asymmetry. The
chemical diversity of the flora and fauna
16

in Brazil, for example, is extraordinary andcould be used to develop bioproducts,
especially medicines. German andBrazilian scientists have joined forces topromote the sustainable use of natural
resources by increasing communities’
awareness of their economic value whileproviding small and medium enterprises
the data they need to compete in a global
market.
“We believe the conservation of
biodiversity must be aligned withthe economy. In other words, to besustainable, it should first be economically
viable for the people living in thosecountries and areas”, says Edgard Marx,
project manager on the German side.
The project was proposed and is being
led by Edgard Marx (HTWK) in Germany
and by Marilia Valli (UNESP) in Brazil, withthe support of the main researchers andprofessors Dr. Thomas Riechert (HTWK),
Dr. Vanderlan da Silva Bolzani (UNESP)
and Dr. Adriano Defini Andricopulo (USP).
In total, nine researchers are participating
directly in the project.
The project is in its preliminary phaseand is scheduled to be completed in
2024. For the researchers, the enthusiasm
and commitment of the group has

OVERVIEW
The chemical diversity of the flora and faunaof Brazilian biomes can be seen in the wide
range of compound classes and structural typesof secondary metabolites from plants, fungi,
insects, marine organisms and bacteria found by
this research. DINOBBIO aims to investigate thechallenges of building, managing and utilizing
biochemical knowledge graphs (BKG) thatuse semantic web technologies and machinelearning. It focuses on researching new natureinspired products developed from Brazilian
biodiversity.
DURATION: Since 2021
Aerial view of Amazon
rainforest, South America© DFG/istockphoto

been fundamental in making the workeasier amid the difficulties imposed by
the coronavirus pandemic. In addition,
both sides have extensive experience inworking with their partners.
“As a student, I participated in theCiências sem Fronteiras, a Brazilianscientific exchange programme. Ourscientific exchanges with Brazil started
years ago with the arrival of many Brazilian

researchers in Germany to be part of theAgile Knowledge and Semantic Web(AKSW) group, of which I too was amember. Prior to this project, we hadorganised a workshop in Brazil financedby the DFG. At this particular event, I
had the opportunity to meet some of
the Brazilian researchers who worked or
are working on curating natural products
data, and the rest is history.”

SCIENTIFIC AREAS: Information Systems,
Process and Knowledge Management
PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS:` São Paulo State University - UNESP` University of São Paulo - USP` Leipzig University of Applied Science (HTWK
Leipzig)
PARTNER ORGANISATION: São Paulo Research
Foundation (FAPESP)DFG PROGRAMME: Research Grants
NUMBER OF PAPERS PUBLISHED: Not yet
definable
WEBSITE: dinobbio.aksw.org

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Funded projects | Chile

EarthShape: Earth surface
shaping by biota

The overarching research question of thisproject is how microorganisms, animals, andplants influence the shape and developmentof the earth’s surface over time scales fromthe present day to the distant geologic past.
These interactions control how soils form,
how water flows along the land surface, howvalleys are lowered and ridges rise, and whatvegetation grows in different climate zones.

Number of
doctorates:

30
EARTHSHAPE

Numberof papers
published:

1871

EARTHSHAPE

EarthShape straddles a number of scientificdisciplines and includes geoscientists, soil
scientists, ecologists, and microbiologists tostudy this complex question from different
viewpoints. Approximately 60 Germanand 20 Chilean researchers are involved ina diverse range of projects in this Priority
Programme.
All study sites are located in the Coastal
Cordillera Mountains trending north to southin Chile, South America. These sites stretch
from the Atacama Desert in the north to the
Araucaria forests approximately 1,300 km to
the south. The site selection contains a large
ecological and climate gradient ranging fromvery dry to humid climate conditions.

“The project improves our understandingof how biota influence the shape andfunctioning of the earth’s surface. This isimportant because it will improve our ability
to predict how each surface will respondto future vegetation changes associatedwith climate and global warming”, explains
Professor Todd Alan Ehlers, co-coordinator of
the programme at the University of Tübingen.
Chilean researchers benefit from the
project in a variety of ways, generating more
knowledge of their own country, as well as
developing new international collaborations
and strengthening existing ones.
In 2019, the second phase of EarthShapestarted and the project will end in 2023,
although a continuation of related researchis likely to occur over the years to come.
EarthShape continues to stimulate between
Chilean and German scientist’s dynamic
discussions on how biological processes
influence the Earth’s surface. Field work is
continuing in 2022 at the study sites now
that travel restrictions related to the Covid-19
pandemic have decreased.
“EarthShape provides an exciting avenue
for international collaboration between
German and Chilean scientists. Over the past
years, we are pleased to see the developmentof collaborative studies in Earth surface
processes between these communities”, says
Professor Todd Ehlers.

OVERVIEWThis initiative studies how biological processes
form soil, influence topography and impact
sedimentation and erosion as function of time.
A diverse range of disciplines from the geo andbiological sciences come together in this projectin four focus areas in Chile.
DURATION: Since 2015
SCIENTIFIC AREA: Geosciences
PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS: Countless,
led by the University of Tübingen and the GFZ(German Research Centre for Geosciences),
Germany.
DFG PROGRAMME: Priority Programme
WEBSITE: www.earthshape.net

19Funded projects | Colombia

A PhilosophicalApproach to Biasing
Mechanisms in Scientific
Research
The polarisation of ideas does not only
have an impact on political, social, andcultural approaches. In the philosophy ofscience, recent work has led to an emerging
consensus that science is not value-free, andthat values, including social and politicalvalues, play different roles in the research
process. It has also become clear that values
can have both a positive and a negative
impact on science. Sometimes, values cancontribute to science’s epistemic and social
goals, while other times, they can have a
detrimental effect on science’s epistemic
goals, i.e., biasing research results. The
main goal of the project “A PhilosophicalApproach to Biasing Mechanisms in20

Illustrative photo© DFG/istockphoto

Scientific Research” is to clarify the negativeroles of values in scientific research, and inparticular their sometimes biasing effects.
While it is well-known that biases impact
scientific research results, we have a lessclear understanding of the different types ofbiases, their mechanisms, and their scope.
This project is being developed by apartnership between researchers from theInstitut für Philosophie, Leibniz Universität
Hannover and Department of Philosophy,
Universidad de los Andes. It is funded by
the DFG and the Universidad de los Andes.
Both institutions have a continuous flow
cooperation agreement, in which researchers
based in Germany and researchers from
Universidad de los Andes can submit a
proposal at any time in any research area.
Prof. Manuela Fernández Pinto, Colombian
principal investigator of the Project, andProf. Torsten Wilholt, German principal
investigator of the project, already knew
each other’s published works, but it was

only at a workshop on biases at the Munich
Center for Mathematical Philosophy, where
they both gave presentations, that they
understood the large overlaps in theirresearch interests. In addition to the two
principal investigators, one Postdoctoral
researcher and one graduate student will be
involved in the project
The researchers submitted the proposal
for this project from a perception thatphilosophy of science lacked a systematic
examination of how bias shows up in
research. They both intended to shed lighton this side of the presence of values inscience. “In recent decades, there has been
the widespread agreement that values
are indispensable in scientific practice andoften even contribute constructively to theadvancement of knowledge. However, weknow that value attitudes can also have
harmful influences by creating biases in
research and obstructing the generation ofknowledge.”

OVERVIEW
The main purpose of this project is to provide aphilosophical analysis that contributes to a better
understanding of biasing mechanisms in science.
The main goal is to clarify the negative roles ofvalues in scientific research, and in particular
their sometimes biasing effects. While it is wellknown that biases impact scientific research
results, there is a less clear understanding of thedifferent types of biases, their mechanisms, andtheir scope. This project aims to fill that gap.
DURATION: Since June 2022
SUBJECT AREAS: Philosophy of science,
epistemology, methodology
INVOLVED INSTITUTIONS:` Institut für Philosophie, Leibniz Universität
Hannover` Departamento de Filosofía, Universidad de los
Andes
PARTNER ORGANISATION:
Universidad de los Andes (UNIANDES)DFG PROGRAMME: Research Grants
WEBSITE: Not yet definable

21Funded projects | Colombia

Interaction between
antiphospholipid
antibodies, endothelial
cell-derived extracellular
vesicles and monocytes in
antiphospholipid syndrome

The antiphospholipid syndrome (APS)
is an autoimmune disease that can cause
thrombosis and gestational morbidity, butlittle is known about the pathophysiologicalmechanisms that cause these alterations.
Researchers from Grupo Reproducción(School of Medicine, University of
Antioquia and Bolivarian University
Clinic, Medellin, Colombia) and from
Placenta-Lab (Department of Obstetrics,
Jena University Hospital, Germany)
will investigate how antiphospholipid
antibodies affect the communication

Number of
doctorates:

02
University Hospital Jena, Germany© Dr. Diana Morales

22Researchers in action© Prof. Angela Cadavid

between the mother’s (endothelial anddifferent cells of the immune system) andbaby’s cells (trophoblast cells) to produce
these damages. They hope that explaining
this will help to develop novel treatment
strategies that are more effective for APS
patients to give birth to healthy offspring.
This project is the result of a long-standing
partnership between PD Dr. Morales Prieto
and Prof. Markert (Placenta Lab) and Prof.
Cadavid (Grupo Reproducción). They
have previously collaborated in programs
involving bilateral exchange of researchers,
graduate students, and professors thathave resulted in multiple joint publications.
“The Grupo Reproducción works at ahigh scientific level and is very engaged
and cooperative. The interaction between
our groups has been always very efficientand constructive. This is important forthis project, as it relies on the continuous
exchange of information between German
and Colombian doctoral students andprincipal investigators. Zoom meetings aswell as scientist exchanges are planned
from both sides for the future”, says
Diana Maria Morales Prieto, the principal
investigator on the German side.
The project is funded by the DFG
and the University of Antioquia (UdeA).
Both institutions have a continuous
flow cooperation agreement, in which
researchers based in Germany andresearchers from UdeA can submit a
proposal at any time without a specific call.
The project has been launched recently
with sample collection from the different
study groups (patients with different clinicalmanifestations of APS and control groups)
in Medellin (Colombia), Barcelona (Spain)
and Jena (Germany). In addition, materials
and reagents are being obtained to prepare
the upcoming experiments. Over the next
few years, the researches expect to explainsome of the mechanisms involved in APS,
which may help to develop treatments
aiming to reduce the risk of pregnancy
complications in APS patients.

OVERVIEWFor this research proposal, it is suggested thatinteraction between monocytes, endothelial cells,
and trophoblast cells via extracellular vesicles –EVs – (a versatile mechanism of signaling) could
be of interest in explaining the net of events
involved in APS (antiphospholipid syndrome)
pathophysiology.
DURATION: Since April 2022
SCIENTIFIC AREAS: Immunology, Vasculardiseases, Gynecology
PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS:` Reproduction Group, School of Medicine,
University of Antioquia and Bolivarian University
Clinic, Medellin, Colombia` Placenta-Lab, Department of Obstetrics,
University Hospital Jena, Germany
PARTNER ORGANISATION: Universidad de
Antioquia - UdeADFG PROGRAMME: Research Grants
NUMBER OF DOCTORATES: 2
WEBSITE: Under construction

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Funded projects | Costa Rica

COVID-19 in Latin
America: The role of social
protections for householdswith children
View of the internal street of the most famous of
precarious settlements in the heart of the city of Buenos
Aires, Argentina known as Villa 31.
© DFG/istockphoto

The coronavirus pandemic, a major crisisof this century, has raised concerns andquestions not only with regard to health andmedical aspects but also to social aspects.
The vulnerability that already existed inmany families in the Global South has been
accentuated since 2020. This project – acollaboration between researchers from
Germany and Costa Rica – is analysing thesocio-economic fallout of the COVID-19

pandemic, and the intervening role of social
protection of families with children in eight
Latin American countries. The region, withhigh levels of inequality, labour informality,
and urbanisation, has been hit particularly
hard by both pandemic deaths andeconomic effects.
The researchers are specifically interested
in investigating attitudes toward cashtransfers to different groups, includingchildren, and some potential predictorsof these attitudes. “Does socio-economic
status, level of education, householdcomposition, number of children influence
willingness to extend cash transfers todifferent groups?”, “How much mightideology and specific recent experiences
influence the attitudes?” are questions thatthey seek to understand.
“As the pandemic hit in 2020, governments
implemented temporary emergency cashtransfer programmes that reached households
especially during the first year of thepandemic, in addition to the existing cashtransfer programmes. However, the measures
have still been limited in coverage, adequacyand duration. We therefore proposed to
conduct representative phone surveys inseven Latin American countries, to study
people’s attitudes toward social protection,
especially cash transfers. So far, no systematiccomparative surveys on this topic exist in Latin
America” says Prof. Dr. Merike Blofield
For the principal investigators “thegoal of the survey is academic, but also,
and very importantly, to provide systematic
empirical data to influence public debate
and policy design for more sustainable andinclusive social policies in the region, as
countries grapple with the need to recoverafter two very difficult years”.
This project, led by Prof. Dr. Merike
Blofield (Germany) and Prof. Dr. Juliana
Martínez Franzoni (Costa Rica), wascontemplated in the call “Impacts of
the Coronavirus Pandemic in the Global
South”. The call, launched in 2021, is partof the COVID-19 Focus Funding. That is
a DFG funding opportunity designed toenable researchers to address especially
urgent research questions requiring rapid
answers.

OVERVIEWThis project analyses the socio-economic falloutof the COVID-19 pandemic, and the interveningrole of social protection of families with children
in eight Latin American countries. The region,
with high levels of inequality, labour informality
and urbanisation, has been hit particularly hardby both pandemic deaths and economic effects.
DURATION: Since 2021
SUBJECT AREAS: Empirical Social Research andPolitical Science
PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS:` German Institute for Global and Area Studies` Leibniz-Institut für Globale und Regionale Studien` Universidad de Costa Rica, Instituto deInvestigaciones Sociales
DFG PROGRAMME: Research Grants / COVID-19
Focus Funding
WEBSITE: bit.ly/3KgsnnK

25

Funded projects | Costa Rica

The aposematic
phenotype: a geno-by
phenotype perspectivefrom poison frogs
This project will research two different
anti-predators strategies that animals use
to enhance survival: Aposematism andcrypsis. Aposematic animals display aconspicuous warning coloration, whichis associated with a high toxicity or
unpalatability. Cryptic animals in contrasts
are not or less toxic and avoid predation
by camouflage. While the ecologicalaspects of both strategies are well studied,nothing is known about the chemical
aspects and molecular processes involvedin the generation of both strategies.
The group of sixteen researchers from
Germany, Costa Rica, Panama, Switzerland
and England selected red and green
populations, aposematic and cryptic
respectively, in three different poison
frog species. The intentions are to findout whether the different populations
and species converge in their chemical,
26

physiological and genetic processes
e.g. pigments content in the dermis or
expression of genes involved in alkaloid/
pigment processing, for producing either
the aposematic or cryptic phenotype.
With this study, they hope to improve
the knowledge on biological processes that
underlie aposematic diversification within
and among species. This diversification is
supposed to be driven by natural selection
over evolutionary time scales.
Both German principal investigators
have an extensive history of cooperation
with Latin American countries. Prof. Dr.
Heike Pröhl studied tropical biology from1991 to 1992 at the Universidad de Costa
Rica (UCR) and worked as a lecturer (2003)
at the Universidad Nacional de Costa Rica
(UNA). She conducted field work for her
diploma (1993) and doctoral thesis (199597) as well as for a postdoctoral projectwith frogs in Costa Rica and Panama. Since
her doctoral project, she is collaboratingwith Costa Rican, Panamanian, but also
Colombian researchers mainly on theecology, behaviour and evolution of poison
frogs. Dr. Ariel Rodriguez conducted hisacademic formation and first research
projects in Cuba at the Institute of Ecology
and systematics in Havana. In Germany, he
has maintained regular collaboration with

OVERVIEW

Ariel Rodriguez and Heike
Pröhl taking calibrated
photographs from a red
strawberry poison frog
(Oophaga pumilio) in the
Hitoy Cerere BiologicalReserve, Costa Rica, forcoloration analyses.
© TiHo Hannover

The project investigates two different antipredators strategies that animals use to enhancesurvival: aposematism and crypsis. In thisstudy, the researchers relate aspects of frog
coloration to aspects of the toxicity by measuringmorphological, physiological and molecular
traits. The main question is whether these two
antipredator strategies are obtained by similar
biological procedures, e.g. pigment production, in
three Oophaga species in Costa Rica and Panama
or whether different processes are at work.
DURATION: Since 2022
SCIENTIFIC AREAS: Evolution, Zoology, Ecology
and Biodiversity of Animals and Ecosystems,
Organismic Interactions
PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS:

researchers from Cuba, Panama and other
Latin American Countries.
“The collaboration with our international
partners, mainly from Costa Rica, istruly interdisciplinary in the sense thatthey work on a diverse set of chemical
aspects of the antipredator strategies
like pigment contents, alkaloid contents,
toxicity assays, while we are working on
the biological aspects such as colorationand visual ecology, histology, molecular

processes and genetic differences”, says
Prof. Pröhl.
The project is in its initial phase. The
researchers are starting doing field workin Costa Rica (May 2022) and Panama(June 2022). They expect the academic
formation of several Costa Rican andGerman masters and PhD students andmultiple publications with the last one,synthesizing the most important results,
to be published in about 5 years.

` University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover(Germany)` University of Costa Rica
` Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute (Panama)` Université de Genève (Switzerland)` University of Cambridge (England)
PARTNER INSTITUITONS: Costa Rican National
Council of University Rectors (CONARE)
DFG PROGRAMME: Research Grants
WEBSITE: Not yet definable27

Funded projects | Ecuador

Environmental changes
in biodiversity hotspot
ecosystems of South
Ecuador: RESPonse andfeedback effects (RESPECT)This Research Unit (RU) is pursuing a longterm study of biodiversity and ecologicalinteractions with biogeochemical cycles in theAndes of Ecuador. Research in the biodiversity
hotspot ecosystems of SE-Ecuador started
in the late 1990s and continued throughseveral projects funded by the DFG. As
such, over almost 20 years of research,adverse impacts of ongoing environmental
change were observed for biodiversity andecosystems. The pressing challenge is thus tocalculate future projections on the direction
and magnitude to which the great wealth of
biodiversity and ecosystem services (such as
production of water for supply and hydropower generation) might be impacted byenvironmental change, and what measures
could be taken to mitigate or even prevent
adverse effects.
28

That is why the main objective of
RESPECT is to reveal how ecosystembiomass production and water fluxes
in the tropical mountain forest will beaffected by future climate and land-use
changes through alterations in response
and effect traits. During the first phase of
RU “RESPECT” the researchers combined
a trait-based response-effect-frameworkwith an improved land surface model toproject the response of two ecosystem
functions to environmental changes thatare of high priority for Ecuador: biomass
production and water fluxes. For thisendeavour, the researchers focused on themountain rain forest, where a plot system
was implemented and abiotic drivers, biotic
trait and process data for selected plant
species were sampled. First results point
to a complex interplay between abiotic
drivers, trait diversity and biotic processes
for the two ecosystem functions. Moreover,the development of the locally adapted,
biodiversity informed land surface model
HUMBOL-TD (Hydroatmo Unified Model of
BiOtic interactions and Local Trait Diversity),
which couples three models to cover the
relevant compartments of the mountainrain forest, show that local functional trait
and soil data substantially improve thesimulations.

Number of
doctorates:

66
19
concluded

ongoingOVERVIEW
The overall objective of RESPECT is to reveal how
ecosystem biomass production and water fluxes
are affected by climate and land use changes inthe south Ecuadorian Andes.

The dry forest Laipuna, where most of theresearch is currently done.
© Prof Dr. Nina Farwig“The novel developments and findingsof the RU ’RESPECT’ can now be used
to project alternative future land-use
scenarios, that will be able to consider
watershed rehabilitation so that supply of
potable water and hydro-power services
are ensured as well as to identify the best
adapted and sustainable land use systems
that support the long-term welfare of local
farmers and the protection of biodiversity

and natural ecosystem”, explains Prof. Dr.
Nina Farwig, the German spokeswoman of
the RU.
The researchers have established deep,
trusting, and vigorous cooperation withthe leading local universities and theirscientists, but also with non-university
cooperation partners (public and private)active in the environmental sector.

DURATION: The research started in 1997 witha bundle project leading into the RU402, whichlasted until 2006; continued in the project
FOR816 from 2007 to 2013; then evolved into theprogramme PAK823-825 in 2013 and RU2730 in2018. The second phase of FOR 2730 began in
2021 and will last until 2024.
SCIENTIFIC AREAS: Biology, Geosciences andGeomodelling
PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS: Numerous,
led by the Conservation Ecology Group at the
Department of Biology of the Philipps-Universität
Marburg.
NUMBER OF PAPERS PUBLISHED: Numerous
DFG PROGRAMME: Research UnitWEBSITE: under construction

29

Funded projects | Mexico

International ResearchTraining Group“Temporalities of Future”
Major
processes,
likemigratory
movements or economic volatility, havealways shaped temporalities of the future in
Latin America. However, what are the effectsof the recent pandemic measures? This is oneof more questions, which this research project
aims to answer.
The Temporalities of Futures is an
International Training Group (IRTG) thataims at a new perspective on the study of
temporalities of the future in social andcultural sciences by realigning investigations
towards a better understanding of the
dynamics of aspirations and anticipationsin Latin America, adding much-needed
perspective on subaltern and non-Western
agency with regard to the future.
The strength of this programme, jointly
established by Mexican and German scholars,lies in the intense collaboration of two diverse
academic cultures. There are currently 9
German and 10 Mexican scholars from thehumanities and social sciences supervising 52
doctorates and 4 postdocs from Latin America
30

and Europe. “The experience of the first IRTG
‘Between Spaces’ demonstrated that the
study programme should be closely tailoredto the needs of the individual students andmonitored by the regular interaction between
all of the involved scholars and doctoral
researchers”, says Prof. Stefan Rinke, German
principal investigator of the project, who iscoordinating its Second IRTG in partnershipwith Mexican scientists.
For Prof. Rinke, the collaboration withpartners in Mexico is crucial to the project,offering a lively scholarly environment withregard to research and qualification open to
all IRTG members. The expertise, research
infrastructure and international networkingof the Mexican partners are exceptional andstrongly complement the capacities at theGerman location.
Doctoral students in this programme
receive supervision and support in theoreticaland methodological specialisation from both
Germany and Mexico; they are also being
encouraged to network with other research
institutions in both countries. The first
generation of doctoral students is concluding
their PhD-theses, while the second generation
is just starting their investigations. The secondand a third generation will have concluded
their PhDs by 2028.

Number of
doctorates:

52
Numberof papers
published:

45

The first meeting of the fellows of the IGK“Temporalities of Future” at the FU Berlin in May 2019.
© Freie Universität Berlin

OVERVIEWThis project seeks to contribute to the study of
temporalities of future by investigating dynamics
of aspirations and anticipations in Latin America
through an interdisciplinary dialogue in the social
sciences and humanities that includes subaltern
and non-western perspectives.
DURATION: Since 2019SCIENTIFIC AREAS: Social and Cultural
Anthropology, History, Economics, Literary andCultural Studies, Sociology, Studies of Education,
Political Science
PARTICIPATING INSTITUTIONS:` Freie Universität Berlin (Institute for Latin
American Studies)` Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (Educational
Sciences, Romance Studies)` Universität Potsdam, Institute for Romance
Studies` El Colegio de México (COLMEX)` Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
(UNAM)` Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios Superiores
en Antropología Social (CIESAS)PARTNER ORGANISATION: National Council of
Science and Technology (CONACYT)DFG PROGRAMME: International ResearchTraining Groups (IRTG)WEBSITE: bit.ly/3vVg37l

31

Funded projects | Mexico

Diversity Components
in Mosquito-borne
Diseases in Face of
Climate Change (DiMoc)
Climate change is the subject of many studies
around the world, after all we are talking abouta process that directly affects life on planet
Earth as a whole. In this sense, all global efforts
to understand this process are very necessary.
The project Diversity Components in Mosquitoborne Diseases in Face of Climate Change(DiMoc) is a great example of the importance ofworldwide scientific cooperation.
Inserted in the pan-European BiodivERsA callfor transnational proposals, the project brings
together four institutions from three European
countries (Germany, Belgium and France) andMexico. The demand for a comprehensive study
is necessary because Mosquito-borne pathogens
such as chikungunya virus and West Nile virus
are an increasing threat to veterinary and publichealth also in Europe and in other regions.
Emerging and re-emerging transmission patterns
are influenced by global transport, long-distancetravel, and environmental and climatic changes,
32

while vaccination and pharmaceuticaltreatment is either not available or very
limited. The role of biodiversity on diseasetransmission is becoming evident as far
as introduced invasive species and habitat
degradation are concerned, but on theother hand, attenuating or promoting
effects on the chain of infection remain
poorly understood. At the same time, abetter understanding has a high potential toadvance policy actions and response on thetransmission of zoonotic diseases and avoid
local or regional outbreaks.
Through the integration of young
researchers from a broad spectrum of
disciplines, e.g. entomology, virology,
biogeography, human geography, ecology,
anthropology, DiMoc aims to better
understand the effects of biodiversity on thetransmission of mosquito-borne pathogens.
By analysing different organisations (hosts,

Numberof papers
published:

03

OVERVIEW
DiMoC aims to better understand the effectsof biodiversity in mosquito-borne pathogens
transmission in face of Climate Change impacts.
DURATION: Since 2020
SUBJECT AREAS: Ecology and Biodiversity ofPlants and Ecosystems

The Biosafety Level 3 training at the Bernhard
Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine in
Hamburg at the end of April 2022.
© BNITM/Anna Heitmann

insects, viruses, human population), spatial(continental, regional, local, organismal) andtemporal scales (current conditions / future
projections), DiMOC will test differents
aspects.
The idea is to be able to assess whether
scenarios and models including climate,landscape diversity, and social diversity canbe used to quantify the uncertainty in future

trends of risks in pathogen transmission.
DiMoC has a strong communication
component in order to facilitate exchanges
with stakeholders and professional groups
from the European continent and one
overseas region to assess relative diseaserisks. Mutual exchange of information
promotes the quality of studies andimproves translation into practice.

INVOLVED INSTITUTIONS:` University of Bayreuth` Institute of Tropical Medicine` University of Montpellier` Bernhard Nocht Institute for Tropical Medicine` Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México
(UNAM)PARTNER ORGANISATIONS:` Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen` Research Foundation Flanders (FWO)` The French National Research Agency` Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek - Vlaanderen` Research Foundation Flanders (FWO)DFG PROGRAMME: Research Grants
WEBSITE: www.dimoc.uni-bayreuth.de33

FUNDING
INTERNATIONALRESEARCH
The DFG enables cross-bordercooperation between researchersand supports collaboration withinternational partners in all its
funding programmes. The DFG also
launches joint calls for collaborative
research projects with partnerorganisations abroad. Learn more:
www.dfg.de/en/research_funding/international_cooperation/funding
DFG’s support for projects withinternational partners is generally
based on the principle of mutual
responsibility. Researchers working
in Germany apply to the DFG, while
their partners abroad apply forfunding through their respective
partner organisations.

SPECIAL PROGRAMMESWalter Benjamin Programme

Initiation of International Collaboration

The Walter Benjamin programme offers researchers intheir early postdoctoral training phase an opportunity
to independently conduct their own research andbenefit from other career-promoting conditions.

In order to initiate and foster future bilateral projects,
the DFG provides funding for preparatory trips,
including research visits and guest stays, as well asworkshops through this programme.
The researcher based in Germany may submit
proposals at any time. The proposals must, however,be received no later than six months before themeasures are implemented. The funding remains
available for a maximum of 12 months after theapproval date and the trips abroad or guest stays inGermany may last for up to 3 months.
MORE INFORMATION: bit.ly/initiation-cooperation

INDIVIDUAL GRANTS PROGRAMMESUnder these programmes, any researcher holding adoctorate is eligible to apply for funding to carry out
a research project at a German institution.

The Walter Benjamin Fellowship can only beawarded to researchers who are integrated into
Germany’s academic research system. This is thecase if immediately prior to submitting a proposal,
they have worked as a researcher in Germany for acontinuous period of at least three years during theirdoctoral and/or postdoctoral studies.
MORE INFORMATION: www.dfg.de/walter_benjamin/en

Research Grants Programme

Emmy Noether ProgrammeThis program enables scientists to research a specifictopic within a limited time period of three years,
renewable for a further three years. It is the mostflexible grants programme and has no proposal
deadline. It may provide funding for:This program enables outstanding early career
researchers with two to four years of postdoctoral
experience to rapidly qualify for leading positions inscience or for a university teaching career by heading
an independent junior research group, generally forsix years. Applicants from abroad are expected tocontinue their research careers in Germany after thefunding comes to an end.

Project costs: research staff, equipment, travel andpublications;Temporary Position for Principal Investigators:
funding for the leading investigator of the project;
 ercator Fellow: an intensive, long-term
Mcollaboration with researchers in Germany andabroad.
In many cases, the Research Grants Programme canbe used to fund the German side of an international
collaboration project.
MORE INFORMATION: www.dfg.de/research_grants

34

The Walter Benjamin Position offers qualified
foreign researches an opportunity to conduct
research in Germany. Researchers who wish toparticipate in the programme will be integrated into a
research environment that supports them in carryingout the project and gives them the opportunity toplan their next career steps.

MORE INFORMATION: www.dfg.de/emmy_noether/en

Heisenberg Programme
The objective of this programme is to support
outstanding researchers who are eligible forappointment to a long-term professorship to prepare
for a senior academic role while continuing theirresearch. It is intended for German researchers as well
as appropriately qualified foreign researchers looking
to pursue careers in Germany.

Once accepted into the Heisenberg Programme,
researchers can choose from two types of funding or
combine them as needed: Heisenberg position covers your salary andAprovides flexible research funds.
 Heisenberg temporary substitute position forA
clinicians covers a substitute to perform your normal
duties and provides flexible research funds.
 Heisenberg professorship provides funding for aA
temporary professorship (W2 or W3) at a German
university as well as flexible research funds.
The Heisenberg fellowship provides fixed funding permonth that can be used to conduct research at an
academic institution in Germany or another country.
The rights and obligations at the selected institution
must be negotiated and agreed individually.
F unding is initially awarded for a three-year
period and may be offered for another two years.
Proposals may be submitted at any time and must
conform to the relevant instructions.
MORE INFORMATION: www.dfg.de/en/research_funding/programmes/individual/heisenberg

COORDINATED PROGRAMMES
These programmes offer funding for collaborativeand long-term research projects involving a large
group of scientists and more than one PI.
International Research Training Groups (IRTG)
International Research Training Groups are bilateral
doctoral programmes run by German universities in
conjunction with universities or research institutions
abroad. They promote systematic cooperation
through joint research and qualification programmes,
joint supervision and longer-term reciprocal researchstays by doctoral researchers at the respective partner
institution. IRTGs are set up by 5–10 faculty members
per institution and support consecutive cohorts of
10–15 doctoral researchers from each side. IRTGs are
funded for up to 9 years (divided into two funding

periods with the first one of five years and thesecond one of four years):
MORE INFORMATION: www.dfg.de/gk/en

Collaborative Research Centres (CRC)
CRCs are long-term university-based research centres,
established for up to 12 years, in which researchers
work together within a multidisciplinary research
programme. CRCs enable researchers to pursue an
outstanding research programme across discipline,
institute, department and faculty boundaries,
drawing together a number of individual projects.
Collaborative Research Centres consist of a large
number of projects. The number and scope ofthese projects depend on the research programme.
Individual projects are led by one researcher or jointly
by several researchers. The programme aims at
excellent research within the group; the developmentof priority areas and structural development at theapplicant university/universities, interdisciplinary
cooperation, support of early career researchersand equal opportunity for women and men in
research. Project-specific funding as well as funding
for international exchange, Mercator fellowships,
networking, guest scientists and other funding
pertinent to the objectives may be provided.
MORE INFORMATION: www.dfg.de/sfb/en

Research Units
A Research Unit is made up of a team of researchers
working together on a research project which
extends beyond the funding options available underthe Individual Grants Programme in terms of thematic
focus, duration and finances. Research Units provide
the staff and material resources required for carryingout intensive, medium-term cooperative projects(generally for eight years) and often contributeto establishing new research directions. Funding
opportunities for Research Units are subject to thesame principles as research grants, and a budget for
setting up the research group as well as national andinternational networking is also provided.

A Research Unit consists of various programme
modules combined in accordance with therequirements of the subject matter. This allows
the research network to be designed in a relatively
flexible way, providing opportunities for juniorresearch groups and strengthening collaboration
with partners outside universities or abroad.
MORE INFORMATION: www.dfg.de/for/en

MORE OPPORTUNITIESThe programmes outlined in this brochure are just a
few of the DFG´s many funding opportunities.
Find more: www.dfg.de/en/research_fundingT o find a German counterpart, access the GERIT
database, where you will find information on over
30,000 research institutes in Germany: www.gerit.
org/de part from carrying out a research project inAcollaboration with researchers based in Germany
through a bilateral project, for example, foreign
researchers may also apply for positions in existing
projects at German institutions. Check whether aposition is available in a project of interest to you at:
gepris.dfg.de/en

35

RESEARCH
MARKETINGAND
PROMOTION
In addition to its liaison
activities and thepromotion of scientificcollaboration between
German and Latin
American researchers,
our office in São Paulo
also fosters awareness of
research opportunities inGermany. This includes
the communication ofparticularly interestingoutcomes of projects
funded by the DFG
and information on
funding opportunities
for collaboration withGerman researchers.

36

PROMOTING COLLABORATIONThe DFG Office Latin America regularly
participates in national and international
conferences and accompanies activities
associated with funded projects invarious fields of research. It organises
and promotes information events andworkshops presenting research andfunding opportunities in Germany,
while collaborating extensively withGerman and foreign research andfunding organisations in the process.
The establishment of strategic scientificevents is another important avenue fordiscovering potential and promoting new
and promising research collaborations.
LEIBNIZ LECTURES
Since 2009, the DFG has been presenting
international lectures to foster dialogue
between laureates of Germany’s mostprestigious science award – the Gottfried
Wilhelm Leibniz Prize – the scientificcommunity and the public in general.
Since 2014, the DFG Office in São
Paulo has regularly invited Leibniz Prizelaureates to give lectures and participate
in related events in Latin America:

2018 – Prof. Dr. Gerhard Wörner,from Georg-August-Universität
Göttingen, lectured on volcanism in
Buenos Aires and Santiago.
2018 – Prof. Dr. Michael Brecht, fromthe Bernstein Centre for Computational
Neuroscience Berlin and HumboldtUniversität zu Berlin, presented lectures
on neurophysiology and cellular
neuroscience in São Paulo and
Rio de Janeiro.
2016 – Prof. Dr. Frank Allgöwer,director of the Institute for Systems
Theory and Automatic Control of the
Universität Stuttgart and Vice-Presidentof the DFG, lectured on cybernetics,
smart energy distribution and Industry
4.0 in São Paulo.
2015 – Prof. Dr. Frank Kirchhoff,from the Universität Ulm, gave a lecture
on virology and the AIDS pandemic inSão Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
2014 – Prof. Dr. Günter M. Ziegler,from the Freie Universität Berlin,presented a lecture on geometry
and physics in São Paulo.
2014 – Prof. Dr. Onur Güntürkün,
from Ruhr-Universität Bochum, lectured
on neuroscience in São Paulo and Riode Janeiro.

DFG

Leibniz Lecture with neuroscientist
Prof. Michael Brecht

MARCOS ISSA/ARGOSFOTO

More information:www.research-in-germany.org

RESEARCH IN GERMANYRESEARCH IN GERMANY
The initiative “Research in Germany – Landof Ideas” was launched by the German
Federal Ministry of Education and Research(BMBF) in 2006 to promote Germany
worldwide as an outstanding research
location. Together with the German
Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) and the
Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, the DFG conducts
a wide range of activities, many of themsubject-specific, in Germany and aroundthe world. This includes participation ininternational conferences, organisation of
information events and workshops, anddevelopment and distribution of informationmaterial for a variety of target groups. These
measures are designed to:s howcase the German research landscape;increase the international visibility of
cutting-edge research in Germany;increase interest in international mobility
and encourage collaboration;improve and unlock potential
for innovation.

Leibniz Lecture with mathematician
Prof. Günter M. Ziegler

37

LIAISONSCIENTISTS
IN LATIN
AMERICAThe DFG Office Latin
America, based in São
Paulo, also collaborates
with liaison scientists
located in Mexico andChile. They serve as
contact persons andrepresentatives for the
DFG, thereby connecting
it with the major local
research institutions andpartner organisations.
They provide information
about our funding
activities and support
the DFG in identifying
the most outstanding
research groups and early
career researchers.

38

Prof. Christina Siebe
Our Liaison Scientist in Mexico
prof. dr. christina siebe has been a faculty member of the Geological

Institute of the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM)
since 1993. The daughter of German parents who emigrated to Mexicoin the late 1950s, she was born there and attended a German school.
After graduation, she went to Stuttgart to study Agricultural Sciencesat the Universität Hohenheim, where she had her first experience withinternational collaboration, carrying out the fieldwork for her thesis in
Mexico and laboratory analysis in Germany.
“While I was doing my thesis, I really enjoyed the research. So six
years later, when I got my degree, I wanted to continue researching, andcompleted a doctorate, which I also did partly in Mexico and partly inGermany. After that, I came back to Mexico to work at UNAM, where I’ve
mainly been researching soil and pollution, and began to arrange student
exchanges with the professors I’d met in Stuttgart”, Prof. Siebe explains.
Through these exchange experiences, she established connections withresearchers at other German universities, which led them to form a groupand propose a bilateral project to the DFG and the CONACYT in 2009.
The project “Environmental dissemination and accumulation of
antibiotic pharmaceuticals, pathogens, and resistance determinants ascaused by wastewater irrigation” was accepted and began in 2010. “In
the same year, I was invited by the DFG to become a Liaison Scientist”, says
Prof. Siebe. Since then, she has been providing advice to local researchersinterested in collaborating with German partners, maintaining contacts
with local DFG partner organisations and coordinating scientific events.
Through these activities, Prof. Siebe helps increase Mexico’s awarenessof Germany as an excellent research location.

CONTACT
PROF. DR.
CHRISTINA SIEBEDFG Liaison Scientist
in Mexico
Instituto de Geología
Universidad Nacional
Autónoma de México
Ciudad Universitaria
Circuito de la Investigación
Científica s/nColonia Coplico El Alto,
Coyoacán04360, México DF México
TEL.: +52 (55) 5622 4265,
ext. 155
E-MAIL: siebe@unam.mx

Prof. Gudrun Kausel
Our Liaison Scientist in Chile
prof. dr. gudrun kausel is an associate professor

at the Institute of Biochemistry and Microbiology of
the Universidad Austral de Chile (UACh) in the city of
Valdivia, on Isla Teja, a fluvial island surrounded by
the Calle-Calle and Cruces rivers. In 2006, she took
up her post as the first DFG Liaison Scientist in Chile.
Born in Germany, Prof. Kausel completed a degree
in biology and earned her doctorate at the Ludwig
Maximilian University of Munich. She then started out
on her international academic career by researching
and teaching in Botswana, Belgium, Germany andFrance, before moving to Chile. In her research
projects at the UACh, she is particularly interested
in studying the effects of environmental changes ongene expression.
“Being a Liaison Scientist is a fascinating adventure.
It makes me learn about very diverse areas withresearch in geology, the ocean, or astronomy, thelatter increasingly important for Chile and making thecountry known worldwide. Truly, Chile is a naturallaboratory for those studies, because it spans formore than 4,200 km across different climate zones.
Indeed, research in Chile contributes importantly toaddress global challenges such as climate change”,
says Prof. Kausel.
“In my work for the DFG, I also focus a great deal on

early career scientists. In my experience, a mostpowerful tool to support them internationallyare Summer Schools. Lots of incredible projects
and collaborations have been conceived atthese encounters”, she explains.
The UACh is located in an area colonised byGerman immigrants in 1850. That is one of thereasons why the university’s connection withGermany is so strong; today it encompasses
agreements with 49 German institutions
and double-degree Magisters and PhD
programmes. The German influence is alsostrong in the local community: Chile’s firstbrewery was established in Valdivia in 1851.
Nowadays, beer has also become a subject ofacademic research in a project coordinated by
Prof. Kausel and Dr. Anita Behn, which seeks
to foster sustainable development of the local
value chain for beer production.
Another of the UACh’s bilateral projects is the
Research Center for Dynamics of High Latitude
Marine Ecosystems (IDEAL). In collaboration
with the Alfred Wegener Institute (AWI) in
Bremerhaven, UACh researchers are investigating
and measuring the impact of global changes on
the Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic region.

CONTACT
PROF. DR.
GUDRUN KAUSELDFG Liaison Scientist
in Chile
Instituto de Bioquímica &Microbiología, Facultadde Ciencias
Universidad Austral deChile (UACh)
Casilla 567
Valdivia - Chile
TEL: +56 632 221798;
MOB: +56 981 377852
E-MAIL: gkausel@uach.cl

39

CONTACTDFG OFFICE LATIN AMERICA
Dr. Christina Peters- Director
Address:
c/o German Centre for Research and Innovation
São Paulo (DWIH São Paulo)
Rua Verbo Divino, 1488, térreo
04719-904, São Paulo – SP, Brazil
Phone: +55 11 5189 8308
E-mail: latinamerica@dfg.de

DFG HEAD OFFICE
Dr. Dietrich Halm
- Director for International Cooperation with Latin America
Address:
Kennedyallee 4053175 Bonn, Germany
Phone: +49 228 885 2347
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IMPRINT© Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)
Juni 2022 (Reprint)
Publisher: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)
Coordination: Dr. Christina Peters and Raquel Nascimento, DFG Office Latin
America
Text and Editing: DFG Office Latin America
Design: Jacqueline Hamine
Translation and English Review: oneword GmbH, Norbert G Kramer, DFG,
German Research Foundation and Karen Lang
Cover Image: DAAD / Volker Lannert
Reprinting and use in electronic systems, even in excerpts, is only permitted withprior approval by the DFG.