The Institute of Zoology is a multidisciplinary academic research and teaching institution that addresses biological phenomena at levels ranging from genes, molecules and cells to entire organisms, populations and ecosystems.

Organismal research spans the entire tree of life from protists to vertebrates, including common genetic animal models like nematodes, the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster, zebrafish and mouse. Research can be grouped into three main themes: Ecology and Evolution, Developmental and Cell Biology, and Neuroscience, using respective state-of-the-art technologies to better understand how animals function and how their outstanding capabilities develop and evolved.

Within the frame of collaborative research centres (SFB 829, TRR134, SFB1211, SFB1218, SFB1451), excellence clusters (CECAD, CEPLAS) and other BMBF-, DFG-, EU-, NIH- and NSF- funded consortia (GRK1960, NeuroNex, iBehave), members of our institute have extensive research collaborations worldwide.