A major challenge in biological research in the 21st century is to gain a more global understanding not only of individual cellular processes, their basic constituents and underlying regulation, but also of how such processes are integrated among each other in the context of both cell and tissue organization and function. Such challenge can be formulated as a simple question: "How do cells form tissues?" This is the question that the MPI-CBG has been addressing since its foundation.

The question broadly defines the scientific horizon of the Institute. It provides conceptual coherence but also flexibility with respect to research directions. In fact, it is not meant to constrain research at the institute to this particular focus but rather to stimulate thinking about the physiological context of whichever individual question the scientists are aiming to answer. The complexity of the problem requires a multi-scale approach, ranging from the analysis of individual molecules to the overview of molecular pathways and networks at the cellular and multi-cellular level.

Thus, research at MPI-CBG can be operationally grouped into four major research areas: biophysics, cell biology, developmental biology, and systems biology. However, in reality the research projects are highly inter-disciplinary and the most innovative concepts originate from the interface between such areas.