Research at the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is focussed on the question how tissues and organs are formed during embryogenesis and maintained during regeneration and aging. These processes are regulated by extracellular growth factors, intracellular signal transduction pathways and gene regulatory networks. We are focussing in our work on heart, kidney, bone, and the nervous system. To tackle these questions, we use different model organisms such as Mus musculus, Xenopus laevis, Danio rerio, Drosophila melanogaster or murine embryonic stem cells. We also use systems biology approaches to gain deeper insights into these processes.