CEPLAS - Cluster of Excellence on Plant Sciences
The growing world population, the increasing demand for food as well as anthropogenic climate change pose an enormous challenge for sustainable food production and ecosystem conservation, which is the focus of the Cluster of Excellence CEPLAS.
- Funded since 2012
- Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences
- Key Profile Area “Sustainable Plant Production"
- Doctoral researchers (2026): 53, including 14 from the University of Cologne
- New appointments in the current funding period: 7 (3 University of Cologne, 3 Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, and one joint appointment between Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf and the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research)
- Relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDG): Zero hunger (SDG 2), Responsible consumption and production (SDG 12), Climate Action (SDG 13)
CEPLAS addresses the major challenges of climate change and the decline of natural resources through fundamental research on complex traits of plants and associated microorganisms (holobiont), which influence adaptation to limited resources and environmental changes. The long-term goal is to predict plant performance and enable the design of SMART-plants with novel traits and improved environmental adaptation.
By providing tailored training programs for early-career researchers at various career stages and for diverse career paths, CEPLAS aims to establish itself as an internationally recognized training center for experimental and theoretical plant and microbial biology.
CEPLAS pools the resources of the Universities of Düsseldorf and Cologne, the Max-Planck-Institute for Plant Breeding Research, the Forschungszentrum Jülich, and the Leibniz Institute of Plant Genetics and Crop Plant Research.
Prof. Dr. Bart Thomma
Research leader (University of Cologne)
Email: bthomma(at)uni-koeln(dot)de
Phone: +49 221 470 89261
Dr. Céline Hönl
Coordinator (Central CEPLAS office)
Email: celine.hoenl(at)hhu(dot)de
Phone: +49 211 8111996
Dr. Charalampos Mantziaris
Project manager (University of Cologne)
Email: c.mantziaris(at)uni-koeln(dot)de
Phone: +49 221 470 90076