Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar

What Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar does

The Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar (MPINB) is a non-profit basic research institute located in Bonn, Germany, and formally established in its current structure in 2017 through the combination of the former caesar research center with a new Max Planck Institute. It operates under the Max Planck Society (Max-Planck-Gesellschaft) with three Scientific Directors and is funded through German federal and state government channels. The institute's core mission is fundamental research in neuroethology — studying how collective neural activity gives rise to animal behavior — across 8 active research groups spanning computational neuroethology, behavior and brain organization, cellular computations and learning, magnetoreception, in silico brain sciences, flight control, neural information flow, and genetics of behavior, using model organisms including C. elegans, Drosophila, zebrafish, and Ansell's mole rat.

MPINB develops proprietary research tools and technologies that constitute its primary technical outputs. Core technologies include GlowTracker (an open-source modular fluorescence tracking microscope for imaging cellular activity in freely moving animals), SpermQ (analysis software for flagellar beating), a FRET-based cAMP biosensor capable of nanomolar measurements in cilia and flagella, two-photon Bessel beam tomography for fast 3D neural volume imaging, optogenetics tools (bPAC), and a patented video oculography system. The institute serves three primary segments: the international scientific research community (through publications in Nature, Cell, EMBO, and academic collaborations), graduate and postgraduate students (via the IMPRS doctoral program and Bachelor/Master positions), and educational institutions (through the Public Lab outreach program offering hands-on workshops to secondary school students). Its business model is non-commercial — no pricing models exist; research is publicly funded, educational programs are free, and tools are released as open-source resources or via Max Planck Innovation GmbH technology transfer.

Name

Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar

Legal name

Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar

Website

https://mpinb.mpg.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Short description

MPINB is a non-profit Max Planck Society research institute in Bonn, Germany, conducting basic neuroethology research on how collective neural activity drives animal behavior across eight research groups, developing open-source imaging and analysis tools, and training graduate students through the IMPRS program.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Neuroscience Research

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169), Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731), Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Hands-on Science Exploration & Experiments (Lab Kits, Science Clubs) (EDAMABAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Science Camps & Field Programs (Nature, Space, Marine, Geology) (EDAMABAB), Simulation-Based Learning & Virtual Labs (EDAGAEAG), Academic & Scientific Conferences (MPAGAGAD)

Keywords

• Neuroscience research
• Neuroethology studies
• Fluorescence microscopy
• Research training programs
• Neural imaging technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Bonn

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar is a publicly funded non-profit research institute that performs basic research in neuroethology, studying how collective neuron activity gives rise to animal behavior across model organisms. It also produces proprietary research tools (GlowTracker microscope, SpermQ software, FRET-based cAMP biosensor, patented video-oculography), delivers graduate training through the IMPRS program, and runs hands-on Public Lab workshops and podcasts for public science engagement.

Product overview

The Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar is a neuroethology research institute rather than a commercial product company. Its offerings consist of research tools developed through scientific work, educational programs, and public outreach activities. Research tools include GlowTracker (modular fluorescence tracking microscope), SpermQ (flagellar beating analysis software), cAMP biosensors, and Bessel beam 3D microscopy technology. Educational offerings include Public Lab hands-on workshops for secondary school students (covering zebrafish, Drosophila, and behavioral experiments), school tours, career talks, online/virtual activities, and primary school programs. The institute also produces podcasts (Neurovoyagers, Laborgeflüster) for science communication. Research spans neuroethology, neural information flow, cellular computations, magnetoreception, and flight control across model organisms including zebrafish, Drosophila, C. elegans, and Ansell's mole rat.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Neurovoyagers Podcast: A podcast series featuring conversations with researchers about neuroscience and neuroethology topics
• Public Lab
• GlowTracker
• SpermQ

Products and services

• GlowTracker modular fluorescence tracking microscope A modular fluorescence tracking microscope enabling simultaneous observation of cellular activity and behavior in small freely moving animals. Built from commercially available components, it can be assembled within hours without specialized parts. Used by neuroscience researchers studying neural activity in C. elegans, Drosophila larvae, and nematode predator-prey interactions.
• SpermQ flagellar beating analysis software Analysis software for comprehensively studying flagellar beating and sperm steering, enabling detailed quantitative analysis of ciliary and sperm movement. Developed by the Wachten group for researchers studying cellular movement and signaling.
• FRET-based cAMP biosensor A FRET-based biosensor capable of measuring nanomolar levels of the second messenger cAMP in subcellular compartments including cilia and flagella. More sensitive than previous biosensors, enabling analysis of cAMP signaling pathways at high spatial precision.
• Public Lab workshops for secondary school students Hands-on laboratory workshops for secondary school pupils providing interactive STEM education experiences in neuroscience, including experiments on zebrafish larvae, Drosophila, and behavioral research. Free of charge and delivered at the institute in Bonn.
• Neurovoyagers Podcast Podcast series featuring interviews with neuroscientists including Georg Keller, Claire Wyart, Teresa Puthussery, Marie Dacke, Rob Froemke, and Monika Scholz, discussing brain function and sensory perception for a general scientific audience.
• Laborgeflüster Podcast
• IMPRS Graduate Program
• Bessel Beam 3D Microscopy technology
• Video-Oculography System
• Underwater Sensation Workshop
• Who is behaving how and why? Workshop
• Aging and Movement in Drosophila Workshop

Quantifiable outcome

• Research published in top-tier journals including Nature, Cell, EMBO Journal, Developmental Cell, Angewandte Chemie, Current Biology, and others
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• University of BonncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2019Close partnership with Excellence University Bonn. Dr. Jason Kerr appointed Professor for Behavioral Neuroscience at University of Bonn. Collaboration on neurobiology research including LIMES Institute partnership on heart valve development studies.
• Princeton UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2019Dr. Monika Scholz joined caesar from Princeton University (Dicke Fellow position). Research on C. elegans nervous system builds on her prior work at Princeton.
• Max Planck Fellow (Prof. Michael Famulok)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 2019Max Planck Fellow at caesar working on molecular machines. Collaboration with Prof. Hiroyuki Asanuma's group in Japan on light-controlled DNA nanorunners published in Angewandte Chemie.
• Institute for Innate Immunity (University of Bonn)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 February 2019Collaborative study on GBA2 enzyme and its role in locomotor dysfunction. Research illuminates molecular mechanisms underlying ataxia and spasticity in patients with glycosphingolipid metabolism mutations.
• Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research (Hamburg Outstation)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 January 2019Collaboration on spastin protein research contributing to understanding of Alzheimer's disease mechanisms and microtubule severing in nerve cells.
• Humboldt University Berlin (Peter Hegemann Lab)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 January 2015Collaboration on optogenetics research. Peter Hegemann's lab at Humboldt University discovered channelrhodopsins and provided expertise for caesar's light-controlled sperm function experiments using bPAC light-activated adenylate cyclase.
• Max Planck Innovation GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 May 2014Technology transfer organization of Max Planck Society involved in the successful KonTEM spin-off exit to FEI Company. Worked with HTGF and caesar on commercialization of phase contrast technology.
• FEI Company (NASDAQ: FEIC)minorOthers · 22 May 2014Acquired KonTEM GmbH through share deal. FEI is a globally operating market leader in high-performance microscopy workflow solutions. Phase contrast technology for TEM integrated into FEI portfolio.
• University Department of Growth and Reproduction, Rigshospitalet (Copenhagen, Denmark)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 April 2014German-Danish collaboration on endocrine disruptors research. Team from caesar and University of Copenhagen studied effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on human sperm function, published in EMBO reports.
• LIMES Institute (University of Bonn)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 31 March 2014Collaboration with Prof. Michael Hoch's LIMES Institute on Creld1 gene research for heart valve development. Dr. Elvira Mass from LIMES and Dr. Dagmar Wachten from caesar collaborated on this project.
• German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 12 November 2013Joint research on Alzheimer's disease mechanisms including spastin protein role in nerve cell death. Researchers from DZNE Bonn site and caesar collaborate on neurodegenerative disease studies. Multiple joint publications in EMBO Journal and Angewandte Chemie.
• Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry (Göttingen)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 20 February 2013Joint research on Alzheimer's drug methylene blue with Markus Zweckstetter's research group investigating tau protein aggregation mechanisms. Study published in Angewandte Chemie.
• Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems (Dresden)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2012Collaboration on sperm calcium dynamics research, contributing to understanding of how sperm calculate calcium concentration changes for navigation.
• University of GöttingenminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2012Collaboration with University of Göttingen on sperm chemotaxis research and calcium dynamics studies.
• Forschungszentrum JülichcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 February 2012Collaboration on sperm research including CatSper channel studies. Scientists from Forschungszentrum Jülich worked with caesar researchers on demonstrating that Lily of the Valley scent imitates progesterone effect on sperm.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Salk Institute for Biological Studies: California-based non-profit basic-research institute covering neuroscience, cell biology, and behavior. Compares closely in non-profit model, top-tier publication output, and model-organism-based discovery research.
• Francis Crick Institute: London-based biomedical discovery institute conducting fundamental research across neuroscience and cell biology. Comparable in scale, public funding mechanism, and emphasis on basic research with application translation.
• Max Planck Institute for Brain Research: Frankfurt-based Max Planck sister institute performing basic research on neural circuits and behavior; directly comparable in mission, funding model, and governance, with overlap in cellular/molecular neuroscience.
• Champalimaud Foundation (Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown): Lisbon-based non-profit research center with a neuroscience programme that studies perception, cognition, and behavior in model organisms, comparable in international scope and foundation-based funding structure.
• Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit: UCL-based academic research unit performing theoretical and computational neuroscience research; a comparable academic unit at the intersection of basic neuroscience research and methods/tool development.
• Allen Institute for Brain Science: US non-profit that conducts basic neuroscience research and develops open research tools/datasets (e.g., Brain Atlas), mirroring MPINB's combination of basic neuroethology research with openly distributed imaging and analysis tools.
• HHMI Janelia Research Campus: Howard Hughes Medical Institute's basic-research lab focused on neuroscience methods development (imaging, optogenetics, connectomics). Highly comparable to MPINB's tool-and-method development focus on neural activity in model organisms.
• Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry: Göttingen-based Max Planck sister institute with which MPINB already collaborates on tau/Alzheimer's work; comparable in scope (structural/molecular neuroscience), size, and funding model.
• Max Planck Florida Institute for Neuroscience: Florida-based Max Planck sister institute focused exclusively on neuroscience; shares funding model, governance, and tool-development ethos including imaging and behavior in model organisms.
• RIKEN Center for Brain Science: Japan's principal publicly funded basic neuroscience research center, investigating neural circuits and behavior in model organisms—a directly comparable mission and funding profile to MPINB.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/MPINB_outreach
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/MPINB_Bonn
• Facebookfacebook.com/MPINB
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/max-planck-institute-for-biophysical-chemistry
• Instagraminstagram.com/mpi_nb

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar