German Centers for Health Research and other BMBF projects
The Faculty of Medicine of LMU Munich and LMU University Hospital is member of all German Centers for Health Research and hosts other BMBF projects.
German Centers for Health Research
The Faculty of Medicine and the LMU Hospital are home to all eight German Centers for Health Research:
- DKTK
- German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research
- Site speaker
- Prof. Dr. Dr. Michael von Bergwelt
- Institution
- Department of Medicine III
- Website
- German Consortium for Translational Cancer Research
- Topics
- Cancer is a complex, multifaceted disease and the underlying biology, clinical progression and therapy options differ significantly depending on the type of cancer. This means that to fight cancer we need complex, multifaceted research concepts. The DKTK partner site Munich is pursuing a number of different approaches, ranging from mechanistic modelling to immuno-oncology and personalized molecular oncology.
Knowledge on its own is of little benefit for medical treatment, however. To make a difference to patients, the new insights must be translated into a clinical treatment strategy. Early translation connects basic research with clinical practice and is at the heart of the activities at the partner site Munich of the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK).
Quelle: DKTK
- DZHK
- German Center for Cardiovascular Research
- Side speaker
- Prof. Dr. Christian Weber
- Institution
- Institute of Cardiovascular Prevention
- Website
- German Center for Cardiovascular Research
- Topic
- Cardiovascular medicine has achieved great success in recent decades. For example, the mortality rate from heart attacks has fallen by almost half over the past ten years. The reasons for this: better medication for high cholesterol and fewer smokers. And yet - cardiovascular diseases are still at the top of the disease statistics: coronary heart disease, heart attacks and heart failure were the three most common causes of death in Germany in 2011, according to the Federal Statistical Office.
In order to achieve further progress, patient-oriented, interdisciplinary research with large studies, cohorts and biobanks is becoming increasingly important. At the German Center for Cardiovascular Research (DZHK), scientists find the space for such research projects. The DZHK offers them a framework for implementing research ideas together, better and faster than before. The most important goal of the DZHK is to make new research results available to all patients in Germany as quickly as possible and to advance therapies as well as the diagnosis and prevention of cardiovascular diseases.
To achieve this, German cardiovascular research was reorganized with the founding of the DZHK in 2011. 28 institutions at seven locations throughout Germany are joining forces and developing a joint research strategy.
Source: DZHK
- DZIF
- German Center for Infection Research
- Side speaker
- Prof. Dr. Michael Hölscher
- Institution
- Institute of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine
- Website
- German Center for Infection Research
- Topics
- Infections are still one of the key challenges facing medicine in the 21st century. What is the best way to contain major infectious diseases? What to do when germs become increasingly insensitive to medication? What are the best prevention strategies? The researchers at the German Center for Infection Research want to investigate these and other questions - in 27 facilities at seven locations.
Site spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Michael Hölscher
Institution: Department of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine
The Munich researchers are particularly concerned with the topic of 'immune control of infections'. The increasing development of resistance to currently available anti-infectives (experts are already talking about the “post-antibiotic era”) requires the search for new therapeutic methods. Immunotherapy in particular offers promising new approaches here. Pathogen-specific immunotherapies (prophylactic or therapeutic) are designed to strengthen the body's own defense system in order to better control or completely prevent infectious diseases. The selection of resistances can be kept low and the composition of the normal flora (microbiome) can be kept intact thanks to the high pathogen specificity.
Source: DZIF
- DZKJ
- German Center for Child and Adolescent Health
- Side speaker
- Prof. Dr. Dr. Christoph Klein
- Institution
- Department of Pediatrics, Dr. von Hauner Children’s Hospital
- Website
- German Center for Child and Adolescent Health
- Topics
- The Munich Child Health Alliance (Munich CHANCE), consisting of doctors and scientists from the LMU Klinikum, the Klinikum rechts der Isar of the Technical University of Munich, the Helmholtz Zentrum München and the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Munich as well as cooperating clinical institutions, will in future work together with six other locations to develop innovative concepts to improve child and adolescent health and thus improve the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of diseases in childhood and adolescence.
Site spokesperson: Prof. Dr. Dr. Christoph Klein
Institution: Children's Hospital and Children's Polyclinic at Dr. von Hauner'schen Kinderspital
In their concept, the Munich team emphasizes the special features of paediatric medicine, particularly with regard to diseases of the immune system and metabolism. They are planning new interdisciplinary projects for children with common and rare diseases - from new prevention strategies to the development of curative therapies. The overarching goal of the German Center for Child and Adolescent Health is to create optimal research conditions for paediatric and adolescent medicine, to network existing expertise even better, to transfer research results into practice more quickly and thus to improve the healthcare of children and adolescents in the long term.
The selected locations are now entering a network phase in which the joint research program is to be prepared. According to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the German Center for Child and Adolescent Health will be launched in January 2022.
Source: KUM
- DZL
- German Center for Lung Research
- Side speaker
- Prof. Dr. Ali Önder Yildirim
- Institution
- Institute of Experimental Pneumology
- Website
- German Center for Lung Research
- Topics
- Molecular biology, stem cell medicine and modern biotechnology are opening up new possibilities for research into lung diseases. The German Center for Lung Research brings together all important research activities. For patients with lung diseases, the range of therapies is relatively limited compared to many other disease groups. What is needed, therefore, are qualitatively new treatment methods that go far beyond what is currently available therapeutically. Basic pneumological research in recent years has provided starting points for this.
The DZL brings together over 200 scientists and their working groups from 22 university and non-university research institutions at five locations. A total of eight diseases or disease groups are the focus of interest: asthma and allergies, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), cystic fibrosis (mucoviscidosis), pneumonia and acute lung failure, diffuse parenchymal lung diseases, pulmonary hypertension, lung cancer and end-stage lung diseases. The DZL has defined three main perspectives for its research in order to be able to investigate typical lung disease processes in a comprehensive manner. On the one hand, these are inflammatory processes, which are equally important in infectious and non-infectious lung diseases. Repair processes, which enable the lungs to regenerate almost completely in some diseases, are a second focus. Finally, proliferation processes that occur in benign and malignant lung diseases and that can severely impair the gas exchange bound to filigree structures will also be investigated.
Source: BMBF
- DZNE
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Side speaker
- Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Christian Haass
- Institution
- Chair of Metabolic Biochemistry, Biomedical Center (BMC)
- Website
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases
- Topics
- Scientists at the DZNE are researching the similarities and differences between various brain diseases with the aim of developing new preventive and therapeutic approaches. At the DZNE, basic research is closely linked to clinical research, population studies and health services research in order to find new diagnostic markers and enable the rapid development of new therapies.
At the DZNE, basic research is closely linked to clinical research, population studies, health services research and systems medicine in order to find new diagnostic markers and enable the rapid development of new therapies. Close collaboration across disciplines is key to the efficient development of new drugs, therapies and preventive measures.
As part of this strategy - called “translational research” - there is a constant exchange between all research areas of the DZNE. This knowledge transfer takes place not only with each other, but also with partners from universities, research institutions, clinics and the pharmaceutical industry. The aim is to ensure that scientific findings are applied as quickly as possible. At the same time, observations from practice can trigger scientific studies to get to the bottom of phenomena that are not understood.
True to the motto “from bench to bedside and back to the bench”: from the laboratory to the patient and back to the laboratory.
The DZNE researches the phenomenon of “neurodegeneration” and the wide range of diseases triggered by it. In addition to Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, this also includes less common diseases such as frontotemporal dementia, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), spinocerebellar ataxia and childhood dementia.
In view of these many unanswered questions, the DZNE pursues an interdisciplinary scientific strategy. This comprises five interlinked research areas: Basic Research, Clinical Research, Health Services Research, Population Research and Systems Medicine. The DZNE is thus dedicated to the entire spectrum from the investigation of molecular disease processes in the laboratory to studies on humans. We also research protective and risk factors in the population and develop care and support measures. All these activities are part of the DZNE's “translational” approach, which aims to effectively link all areas of research in order to achieve maximum impact. After all, our aim is to ensure that findings from research are translated into practical applications - and significantly improve the situation of patients and their relatives. This bridging of the gap between science and practice is the goal of DZNE research.
Source: DZNE
- DZPG
- German Center for Mental Health
- Side speaker
- Prof. Dr. Peter Falkai
- Institution
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
- Website
- German Center for Mental Health
- Topics
- Due to their frequent occurrence, early onset and still unfavorable progression, mental illnesses are among the widespread diseases with a growing burden of disease - in Germany and internationally. For example, 75 percent of mental illnesses occur by the age of 25, thus preventing those affected from realizing a productive and successful life at a very early age.
An interdisciplinary group of researchers from the LMU Klinikum, the Klinikum rechts der Isar of the Technical University of Munich, the University of Augsburg, the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry and the Helmholtz Zentrum München will be working with the PriMe (Precision in Mental Health) research network as part of the new German Center for Mental Health on earlier, personalized and preventive treatment of mental illness - for the benefit of patients in Germany and worldwide.
PriMe will primarily address the development of more precise methods for diagnosis and prognosis in conjunction with a more precise selection and further development of therapeutic procedures through multi-center clinical studies. In particular, methods of artificial intelligence and basic scientific model systems are to be interlinked in order to better understand the mechanisms of disease development, maintenance and resilience - especially in patients with psychotic and affective disorders. At the German Center for Mental Health, this better understanding should quickly lead to new treatment options for affected patients that will fundamentally change the course of mental illness.
The selected sites are now entering a network phase in which the joint research program will be prepared. According to the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the German Center for Mental Health will be launched in January 2022.
Source: KUM
Other BMBF projects with spokespersons
The Federal Ministry of Education and Research supports the implementation of research and innovation projects within the framework of topic-specific and open-topic funding programs.
The following BMBF projects are currently being hosted at the Faculty of Medicine:
- UNITE4TB
- Academia and industry united innovation and treatment for tuberculosis
- Project speaker
- Prof. Dr. Michael Hölscher
- Institution
- Institute of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine
- Funding
- 2021 to 2028
- Website
- UNITE4TB
- Topics
- Tuberculosis (TB) is one of the leading infectious causes of death worldwide. According to the World Health Organization, a total of 1.3 million people died from TB in 2022.
With 30 partners from 13 countries, UNITE4TB aims to set a new standard for anti-TB regimen development by upgrading the current clinical trial methodology and enhancing the efficiency with which new regimens are delivered. Following an overarching racetrack concept, the goal of the UNITE4TB Consortium is to deliver an efficient global clinical trials network equipped to implement phase 2 trials that conform to the highest regulatory standards.
Source: UNITE4TB
- BMBF-Verbund
- DIFUTURE
- SpeakerLMU
- Prof. Dr. Ulrich Mansmann
- Institution
- Institute of Medical Data Processing, Biometrics and Epidemiology (IBE)
- Funding
- 2018 to 2026
- Website
- Project description of the BMBF
- Topics
- The aim of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research's Medical Informatics Initiative is to make data from routine care available digitally, reliably and quickly for medical research. Through IT-supported analyses of this data, research helps to better identify and treat diseases and prevent them as effectively as possible. In the future, information on comparable medical cases or the results of current studies can also be made available to treating doctors. This information can then be used to make the best possible treatment decisions.
Source: BMBF