Models and Mechanisms of Disease

Non-infectious diseases and their specific pathologies are triggered by defects in molecular and/or cellular processes. Understanding the disease etiology is fundamental for both improved diagnostics and the development of effective treatments.

The effects of medications are caused by an active compound interacting with the modulation of suitable cellular target structures. Preclinical drug development identifies and validates such target structures prior to the development of the corresponding compound. These target structures are validated using functional assays, for which valid disease models that truly represent the disease mechanisms with high accuracy are required, in order to predict the relevant compound effects. For this, the NMI offers a range of innovative model systems in neurobiology and tumour biology that are available for compound testing using a variety of molecular, cell biological and electrophysiological techniques.