Grunwald Kadow is Professor of Physiology and Director of the Institute of Physiology II at the University of Bonn as well as Vice Rector for Research and Career Development. Her research examines how the nervous system integrates information from the environment with signals from the body. Internal states such as hunger, fatigue or reproductive status can influence how sensory information is processed and which actions an animal chooses.
Using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster as a model organism, Grunwald Kadow and her team investigate these processes from the molecular level to neural circuits and behavior. The new Max Planck Fellow Group will combine her expertise in physiology and metabolism with advanced imaging and connectomics methods at MPINB.
“As a Max Planck Fellow, I want to connect our shared scientific interests even more closely and open up new directions for research. I am particularly looking forward to advancing research into brain-body interactions using state-of-the-art imaging and connectomics approaches. The Fellowship also offers an opportunity to further strengthen Bonn as a neuroscience hub, build new bridges between the University and the Max Planck Society and support early-career researchers at both institutions,” says Grunwald Kadow.
“We are very excited to welcome Ilona as a Max Planck Fellow at our institute. Her work on how internal physiological states shape neural processing and behavior fits extremely well with the research at MPINB. We look forward to many exciting years of research, exchange and collaboration,” says Professor Jason Kerr, Managing Director of MPINB.
The appointment builds on Grunwald Kadow’s long-standing links with the Max Planck Society. From 2008 to 2018, she led an independent research group at the former Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology in Martinsried. She joined the University of Bonn in 2022 and became Vice Rector in 2024. She is also involved in mentoring doctoral researchers at MPINB and in the International Max Planck Research School for Brain and Behavior.
The Max Planck Fellow Programme promotes cooperation between outstanding university professors and researchers from the Max Planck Society. Fellows are appointed for five years and lead a small research group at a Max Planck Institute alongside their university position.
The Max Planck Institute for Neurobiology of Behavior – caesar investigates how the activity of neural circuits gives rise to animal behavior. Its interdisciplinary research ranges from nanoscale imaging to the analysis of neural activity in freely moving animals.
Kontakt für die Medien:
Prof. Dr. Ilona Grunwald Kadow
Tel. 0228 / 287-53202
E-Mail: Ilona.grunwald@uni-bonn.de