Max Planck Junior Scholars
+++ Call for nominations & applications is open until March 15, 2026! +++
As in 2025, the 2026 Max Planck Junior Scholars Program is exclusively open to local applicants following a nomination by a Frankfurt High School teacher. Eligible candidates must demonstrate a strong talent in the natural sciences and identify with an underrepresented group* (please see below). Eligible students are currently enrolled in grades 10, 11, and 12 at a Frankfurt High School.
"We signed up for this course not knowing what to expect, but with the help of our mentor (...) we were able to explore subjects in science that we never thought we would touch on."
The Max Planck Junior Scholars Program 2026 invites outstanding high school students from underrepresented groups* to participate in a summer internship offering hands-on research experience at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research (Frankfurt am Main), the Max Planck Institute of Biophysics (Frankfurt am Main), the Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research (Bad Nauheim), and Goethe University (Frankfurt am Main). The program aims to inspire participants who have a growing passion for science to pursue careers in the natural sciences. Participants will be offered a fixed stipend (to cover, for example, food and travel expenses during the internship; the rest to be spent at the scholar’s discretion).
Our program runs from June 29 to July 17, 2026 and includes a 1-week Science Bootcamp and a 2-week summer internship in a host laboratory. During this time the scholar will work together with a mentor (either a research assistant, graduate student or a postdoctoral fellow) on a scientific project that may be presented at a lab meeting or as a report.
Eligibility criteria:
As in 2025, the 2026 Max Planck Junior Scholars Internship Program is exclusively open to local applicants and applications are accepted following a nomination only.
Eligible candidates must meet all of the following criteria:
• Be currently enrolled in grades 10, 11, or 12 at a Frankfurt high school
• Be nominated by a MINT teacher at their school
• Demonstrate strong talent and sustained interest in the natural sciences
• Identify with an underrepresented group*
Underreprented groups*: including, but not limited to one of the following examples: low socioeconomic status, migration background, students who are the first in their families to aspire to attend university.
Please note that applications from students without a teacher nomination or from schools outside the Frankfurt region cannot be considered.
Teachers and eligible students may request further information on the nomination and application process by contacting Dr. Irina Epstein at junior.scholars@brain.mpg.de.
Before you consider applying, please note: Animal research plays a critical role in the advancement of neuroscience and our understanding of life itself. The complex workings of the brain and nervous system often require studies at the cellular and molecular level that cannot be fully replicated in vitro. At the Institute, we recognize the ethical considerations inherent in such research and are committed to the 3Rs - Replacement, Reduction and Refinement. These guiding principles focus our efforts on finding alternatives to animal use, minimizing their numbers where possible, and refining our methods to prioritize their well-being. Applicants for a Junior Scholar Internship position should acknowledge that they will be working in a laboratory where animal research is being conducted and support the ethical use of animals in biomedical research.
Key dates in 2026:
January, 2026: announcement of program and call for nominations/applications
March 15, 2026: applications + teacher nomination letters due
March 31, 2026: applicants informed about selection to the program
June 29 - July 17, 2026: Max Planck Junior Scholar Internship
Max Planck Junior Scholars
Participating Labs
Synaptic Plasticity – Erin Schuman
The Schuman Lab investigates how the cell biological mechanisms at the synapses, points of contact and communication between neurons, transmit information and modify circuits to store information.
Neural Systems and coding – Gilles Laurent
The Laurent Lab is interested in the behavior, dynamics and emergent properties of networks of interacting neurons or neuron populations, and focuses principally on olfactory and visual systems.
Connectomics – Moritz Helmsteadter
The Helmstaedter Lab develops and applies high-throughput methods for measuring communication maps of neuronal circuits in order to decipher how the cerebral cortex stores sensory experience and uses it to detect objects.
Social Systems and Circuits - Alison Barker
The Barker Lab studies neural mechanisms for the processing and production of socially meaningful communication, with a particular focus on vocal communication.
Instinctive Behavior Circuits - Vanessa Stempel
The Stempel Lab studies the neural mechanisms that underlie the flexible implementation of instinctive behaviours, with a focus on the synaptic and cellular correlates of behavioural flexibility in defined neural circuits.
Evolutionary Neuroscience and Behavior - Philipp Brand
The Brand Lab studies the neural and genetic mechanisms underlying behavioral evolution, focusing on the role of ecologically relevant aspects of the environment in shaping the diversification of reproductive behaviors.
Brain Algorithms and Circuits - Gregor Schuhknecht
The Schuhknecht Lab investigates how the synaptic circuitry of the vertebrate brain gives rise to the computational algorithms that animals use to solve real-world behavioral problems using larval zebrafish as a model system.
Neurovascular Interface – Amparo Acker-Palmer
The Acker-Palmer Lab aims to elucidating molecular pathways involved in crosstalk between vessels and nerves in order to find out the role of neurons, endothelial cells and astrocytes at the neurovascular interface.
Molecular Sociology - Martin Beck
The Beck lab investigates the structure, function and assembly of very large macromolecular complexes in the context of living cells using integrative, in situ structural biology techniques.
Membrane Dynamics - Ana J. García-Sáez
The García-Sáez lab aims at understanding the underlying physical principles and molecular mechanisms that govern membrane organization and dynamics.
Membraine Protein Biogenesis - Melanie McDowell
The McDowell lab strives to obtain a molecular-level understanding of cellular pathways for the targeting and insertion of membrane proteins at the endoplasmic reticulum, using a multi-faceted structural, biophysical and biochemical approach.
Mechanisms of Cellular Quality Control - Florian Wilfling
Florian Wilfling’s research investigates how cells identify and dispose of damaged or misassembled protein complexes through macroautophagy, focusing on how cellular cargo is selected and packaged into autophagosomes..
Developmental Genetics – Didier Stainier
The Stainier Lab investigates questions related to organogenesis including cell differentiation, tissue morphogenesis, organ homeostasis and function, as well as organ regeneration.
RNA Regulation in Higher Eukaryotes - Michaela Müller-McNicoll
The Müller-McNivoll lab investigates RNA, the carrier of genetic information in the cell, and its regulation.