Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics
Main building of the institute at Freiburg | |
| Abbreviation | MPI-IE |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1961 (as Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology) |
| Type | Scientific institution |
| Purpose | Research in immunobiology, developmental biology and epigenetics |
| Headquarters | Freiburg, Germany |
Parent organization | Max Planck Society |
| Website | (in English) (in German) |
The Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and Epigenetics (German: Max-Planck-Institut für Immunbiologie und Epigenetik) in Freiburg, Germany is an interdisciplinary research institute that conducts basic research in modern immunobiology, developmental biology and epigenetics. It was founded in 1961 as the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology and is one of 86 institutions of the Max Planck Society. Originally named the Max Planck Institute of Immunobiology, it was renamed to its current name in 2010 as it widened its research thrusts to the study of epigenetics.
The researchers of the institute study the development of the immune system and analyse the genes and molecules which are important for its function. They also seek to establish which factors control the maturation of immune cells and how chemical changes of the DNA influence the immune defense. The biologist Georges J. F. Köhler, a co-recipient of the 1984 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, was director of the institute from 1984 until his death in 1995.