Dear researchers and staff at the University of Jena,

We are pleased to introduce the project Gender in Focus?in this first newsletter. This project, which was launched in January 2025 with a public kick-off event, aims to systematically integrate sex and gender aspects into all relevant research areas at our university. Funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the project will run for five years (2024-2029) and create sustainable structures to further improve the quality of research in Jena.

The topic is highly relevant, as a cursory look at current research shows:

A guideline on the management of gender incongruence and gender dysphoria in children and adolescents was recently published, and discussedExternal link very controversially with the participation of Prof Florian Zepf (Jena), as the influential phenomenon of gender identity and a still lacking clinical evidence for the consequences of the administration of puberty blockers and hormone preparationspdf,?246?kb?·?de reveal a serious research deficit. Another focus can be seen in current medical?de and pharmacological studies on the gender-specific differences in the effects of inflammation and ageing in the human body. Finally, gender and gender-sensitive research in the social and behavioural sciences can help to dispel stereotypical ideas about women and men?de: did you know, for example, that romantic relationships are more important for menExternal link than for women, who are also more likely to initiate a break-up - even though there is still a serious gender pay gap that results in inequality and economic discrimination for women?

We cordially invite you to take part in our events, share your experiences and take advantage of the project's resources. We look forward to working with you in the future, supported by our already active ambassadors and experts. Together, we will strengthen the emphasis on the relevance of sex and gender-sensitive research and thus make an important contribution to scientific excellence.

Since the beginning of this year, the project has been actively supported by people who, on the basis of their own sex and gender-sensitive research, can be an inspiration for other scientists at the University of Jena and make a tangible contribution by advocating and providing advisory services via the respective profile areas.

LIGHT profile area

• Prof. Dr. Holger Cartarius, head of the Research Group for Teaching Methodology in Physics and Astronomy, is concerned with the question of the contexts in which it can be useful to introduce pupils to scientific phenomena in a sex and gender specific way.

LIFE profile area

• Prof. Dr. Oliver Werz, holder of the university chair of Pharmaceutical/Medicinal Chemistry, focuses his research on the regulation of age-related inflammation, the various manifestations of which depend on biological sex, and uses his findings to contribute to the development of optimised, sex-specific or personalised pharmacotherapies.

LIBERTY profile area

• Prof. Dr. Adrian Simpson?de, Professorship of Speech Science, and Prof. Dr. Melanie Weirich?de, Heisenberg Professorship of Phonetics and Speech Science, are responsible for several projects in their research area?de with a focus on sex and gender.