Leibniz Association funds the Junior Research Group NeuroSIM led by Laura Heinen at DWI

The Senate of the Leibniz Association has selected seven new Leibniz Junior Research Groups for five-year funding. Among them is the research project “NeuroSIM,” led by Dr. Laura Heinen, who prevailed in a highly competitive selection processand will receive approximately 1.7 million euros starting in 2026, 700,000 euros of which will be provided by the institute as its own contribution. With her junior research group, she pursues the ambitious goal of developing interactive materials that can receive, process, and transmit information in a manner similar to biological nerve cells.

Inspired by the nervous system
In living organisms, complex information is transmitted between nerve cells through electrical signals. These signals enable us to move, learn, remember, perceive our environment and respond to it, and process information efficiently. Digital systems already attempt to mimic these capabilities through artificial neural networks. However, in synthetic, soft materials, this potential is still in its infancy: they currently lack multilayered complexity, persistence, and genuine autonomy. This is precisely where NeuroSIM comes in.

Materials with “artificial synapse function”
Together with her team, Dr. Heinen is developing synthetic cells that will serve as active, energy-driven building blocks for future “information materials.” The structure of these artificial cells consists of lipids that assemble into small spherical vesicles, forming a membrane layer that separates the internal compartment from the external environment. “The active functions of these cells are enabled by specific membrane proteins that allow electrical and chemical signals to be received, processed, and autonomously transmitted, thereby recapitulating key mechanisms of neuronal signaling,” explains Laura Heinen.

Through its Junior Research Groups, the Leibniz Association supports the early scientific independence of outstanding young researchers. In addition to financial funding from the Leibniz Competition, group leaders benefit from extensive networking and professional development opportunities within the framework of the Leibniz Best Minds Network.