On August 24 and 25, 2026, the MPI-CBG celebrated its 25th anniversary since opening its building in Dresden on January 22, 2001. From the beginning, the institute has made a significant contribution to promoting scientific excellence and innovation and has played a key role in strengthening Dresden and Saxony’s position as an internationally recognized hub for research and discovery.
The program for the anniversary festivities on August 24 and 25 included an official ceremony with the Minister President of Saxony, Michael Kretschmer; the President of the Max Planck Society, Patrick Cramer; the State Secretary at the Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture, and Tourism, Heike Graßmann; current and former MPI-CBG directors, and many more. In the evening of August 24th, guests came together for a party in the Parkhotel Dresden. Both days featured about 130 talks from current and former employees of MPI-CBG.
Stephan Grill, director at the MPI-CBG puts it: "Twenty-five years in, this institute is at its very best.”
In 2019, we were deeply shocked and disturbed to learn that the life of our dear friend and colleague, Suzanne Eaton, came to a tragic end in Crete on July 2, 2019. We are remembering her with profound respect and admiration. Suzanne was an exceptional and inspiring scientist, a loving spouse and mother, as well as a truly wonderful person beloved to us all.
In 2021, the European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) launched the EMBO New Venture Fellowship in memory of Suzanne Eaton. These fellowships support early career scientists, in any field of life science research, who would like to enter a new field of research. Suzanne Eaton was an internationally acclaimed scientist, known for her contribution to cell signaling, tissue mechanics, and regulation of metabolism during development and mathematical modeling. She was actively engaged in multi-disciplinary research and encouraged others to overcome the challenges of entering a new field for the benefit of intellectual and scientific advancement. With the desire of many to honor Suzanne as a scientist, mentor, and friend, a fund was established in her memory.
The institute celebrated its 15th anniversary from October 27-29, 2016. In 2001, the MPI-CBG came to Dresden with a vision: We wanted to build a new institute from scratch and bring it onto the map of the scientific world. In 2016, the MPI-CBG celebrated that this vision came true with an Anniversary Symposium featuring talks, lab reunions and parties.
What is just as great as the scientific success story of the MPI-CBG: We managed to bring to life an institute with a unique spirit. It is not just a flowery phrase to say that we are like a family – we indeed are.
On July 1, 2009, we learned at the Institute with shock that Marwa El-Sherbini, the wife of PhD student Elwy at the MPI-CBG, was stabbed to death and Elwy got seriously injured at an appeal hearing before the Regional Court. Marwa had resisted the verbal abuse and defamation she had experienced. She and her unborn child were victims of this terrible attack in the courtroom. To this day, we are deeply shaken by what has happened. Marwa and Elwy are still in our thoughts today. Every year on July 1st, we place white roses in the entrance hall of the institute which remind us of Marwa.
The “Marwa El-Sherbini Scholarship for Open-mindedness and Tolerance”, the result of a collaboration of the Free State of Saxony and the State Capital Dresden, is awarded in memory of Marwa El-Sherbini. For this purpose, DRESDEN-concept e. V. has set up the Marwa El-Sherbini Foundation. The aim of the scholarship programme is to promote future executives and specialist staff who take on social responsibility, are involved or interested in politics, and who stand up for freedom, democracy and fundamental human rights.
