Cluster of Excellence
Physics of Life
The Dynamic Organization of Living Matter
Impact
- 46 % Women
- 70 % International
* published by PoL PIs between January 2019 (the start date of PoL) and August 2025
- 10 PoL Programs
- 21 Scientific Events
- 39 Joint PhD Students and Postdocs
- 34 Collaborative Grants
Our purpose
Discover new paradigms for understanding life and deepen our knowledge of living biological matter
We aim to elucidate the laws of physics that underlie the dynamic spatiotemporal organization of life into molecules, cells and tissues. Our focus is to bring fundamental physics to biology for the purpose of understanding and solving biological questions.
Our research is enabled by merging theory and experiment and driven by a sparkling collaborative atmosphere in Dresden between University and non-University research laboratories.
DFG Cluster of Excellence
Physics of Life is one of 57 DFG Clusters of Excellence in Germany
© Campàs Lab – Rana Amini
Our research: vision & mission
We seek to understand living matter as a self-organizing and active form of soft condensed matter
© Friedrich & Kröger groups
The people that make PoL
At PoL we are scientists, technicians, and administrative staff
Join us!
Want to join our community? Find out about open positions and other ways to become a part of PoL!
January 28, 2026
New perspectives on how physical instabilities drive embryonic development
››› read articleJanuary 12, 2026
A Signature of Life: Time Irreversibility and Amplified Fluctuations in Living Matter
››› read article
