We look forward to building on the momentum and enthusiasm from this event as we continue our research to understand lipid droplet diversity in health and disease.

Learn more about our consortium, research foci, and principal investigators at for5815.de

Sincere thanks go to all participants and the local organizing team at the University of Heidelberg, and to the DFG for enabling this important initiative.

This retreat exemplified the collaborative spirit of FOR 5815, creating new connections between labs and setting the stage for future exchanges in methods, mentoring, and joint research projects.

PhD students and postdocs played a central role, presenting data, sharing technical insights, and driving the intellectual energy of the meeting. Their contributions sparked vibrant conversations, strengthened community ties, and launched collaborative ideas to be explored across our institutions.

Across three days, the retreat featured a dynamic program, including project updates and presentations, interactive technical presentations on state-of-the-art methodologies, and lively roundtable discussions for peer learning, networking, and planning future collaborative lab rotations.

Our network unites expertise from fields including virology, cell biology, metabolism, advanced imaging, structural biology, and molecular profiling, fostering deep interdisciplinary exchange.

Supported by the DFG, FOR 5815 is an interdisciplinary research consortium dedicated to unveiling how #LipidDroplet (LD) heterogeneity contributes to fundamental cellular processes, health, and disease.

This event brought together principal investigators alongside PhD students and postdoctoral researchers from 8 German institutions: EMBL Heidelberg, DKFZ Heidelberg, Helmholtz Munich, BZH Heidelberg, University of Münster, University of Heidelberg, University of Marburg, and University of Lübeck.

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This bidirectional relationship allows cells to respond optimally to different conditions, especially to nutrient fluctuations and prevalent pathophysiological challenges. Thus, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗙𝗢𝗥 𝟱𝟴𝟭𝟱 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗹𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗟𝗗 𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲.

The overarching hypothesis of FOR 5815 is that 𝗟𝗗 𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘂𝗸𝗮𝗿𝘆𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘀. We postulate that 𝗱𝘆𝗻𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗟𝗗 𝗵𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗲𝗹𝗹𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿.

This LD heterogeneity occurs at multiple levels, resulting in the formation of specific subpopulations that differ across intracellular space, between neighboring cells of the same or different types, and between healthy and diseased conditions.

#LipidDroplets (LDs) are key organelles of cellular lipid homeostasis. They exhibit a remarkable dynamic plasticity in molecular composition, number, localization, and appearance.