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| No 8/2023 | October Issue |
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Dear Readers,
In April 2022, Charité, the pharma group Bayer, and the State of Berlin signed a memorandum of understanding to jointly establish a translational center for gene and cell therapies aimed at promoting the (further) development and transfer of such advanced therapies into standard patient care, primarily by supporting small- to medium-sized start-ups. The initiative has generated such a tremendous response that the federal budget will now earmark funding through at least 2026 for the creation of a national strategy for gene and cell therapies. A strategy paper is currently being developed in a multistakeholder process coordinated by the BIH. We have therefore set up the National Network Office for Gene and Cell Therapies, which began its work on October 1 as the central contact point and action forum for participants and stakeholders from science, industry, society, and politics. In this newsletter we briefly introduce the head of the new office, Dr. Elke Luger, and her team. We are also pleased to report on noteworthy research findings in which the BIH was involved as well as on the numerous awards won by BIH scientists.
Your BIH Board of Directors,
Christopher Baum and Michael Frieser |
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Two to five percent of all people are affected by Raynaud's phenomenon: In cold or stressful conditions, the small blood vessels that supply the skin constrict and the fingers or toes turn white. First described by Maurice Raynaud in 1862, scientists from the BIH around Dr. Maik Pietzner und Professor Claudia Langenberg, who is leading the BIH research group Computational Medicine, together with colleagues from the United Kingdom, have only now discovered a common genetic causes of the disease and published it in the journal Nature Communications. Read the press releaseRead the publication |
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One shot in the arm, and the whole body is protected. But how? For one thing, the immune system produces antibodies and cells that patrol the entire organism by traveling through the bloodstream. On the other hand, the body builds up a local immune memory in various organs. This is shown by a recent study of the Charité in collaboration with the BIH using the example of corona mRNA vaccines. According to the findings, published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, the immune memory cells are more numerous in the organs than in the blood. They also have enhanced antiviral defense functions. One of the first authors is Dr. Sören Lukassen, head of the research group Medical Omics at the BIH. Read the press releaseRead the publication |
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A team of researchers has uncovered a previously unknown compensatory mechanism found in liver disease. If Kupffer cells (KCs), a specific kind of immune cells found in the liver, become impaired by tissue scarring, immune cells originating in the bone marrow flow to the organ, where they form larger cell clusters to perform the same function. Researchers from Charité and the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary have observed for the first time how the liver preserves its bacterial filtration function even in the presence of disease. Their fundamental findings have been published in the journal Science. They may contribute to developing new treatments for liver damage. The first author of the study is the BIH Charité Clinician Scientist Dr. Moritz Peiseler. Read the press releaseRead the publication |
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The BIH Establishes the National Network Office for Gene and Cell Therapies
The BIH Board of Directors established the National Network Office for Gene and Cell Therapies on October 1, 2023, as a central contact point and action forum for stakeholders and actors from science, industry, society and politics. Together with the German Society for Gene Therapy (DG-GT) and in collaboration with the German Stem Cell Network (GSCN) e.V. as well as with the research group Gene Technology Report, it communicates proactively and transparently on the opportunities and challenges of gene and cell therapies. The national network office is headed by Dr. Elke Luger. After her research career at the University of Salzburg, the University of Maine, USA, Charité Berlin and the German Rheumatism Research Center Berlin, she focused on strategic science management. Most recently, she headed the office of the Leibniz Science Campus Chronic Inflammation at the DRFZ. The team is complemented by Project Manager Eva-Maria Zenz and Eva Holzhäuser, Public Outreach Officer. |
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News From the BIH QUEST Center
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A new project funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme will develop a framework to improve the reproducibility of scientific research. The project, called iRISE (improving Reproducibility in SciencE), will bring together experts from academia and industry to develop a comprehensive understanding of the drivers of irreproducibility and to identify concrete solutions to address them. Dr. Sarah McCann, group leader at the BIH QUEST Center, is co-lead of the project. Read more |
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Dr. Natascha Drude, research associate at the BIH QUEST Center for Responsible Research and responsible for the unit Responsible PrecliniX, has won the BIH Ad-Hoc Grant together with PD Dr. Boris Schmitt from the Department of Pediatric Cardiology at the German Heart Center Berlin (DHZC). The grant amounts to 49,500 euros and enables 20 pediatric cardiologists and heart surgeons from all over Germany to be invited to a two-day workshop where Boris Schmitt will present the fabrication methodology of an innovative pediatric heart valve, followed by a hands-on session with an acute study led by Dr. Natascha Drude. Congratulations! Read more about the BIH Ad-Hoc Grant |
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News From the BIH Biomedical Innovation Academy (BIA)
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Clinician Scientists Involved in DFG-Funded Research Group
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In September 2023, there was good news for the Center for Musculoskeletal Surgery (CMSC) and the Julius Wolff Institute (JWI) of Charité. BIH Charité Clinician Scientist and orthopedic and trauma surgeon, Dr. Tazio Maleitzke, received three awards for his clinical and basic science research work in recent years: The Ferdinand Sauerbruch Research Prize, the NIS Generali Prize of the Deutschen Gesellschaft für Unfallchirurgie (DGU) and the BIH QUEST NULL Results Award. Congratulations! Read more |
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Alumnus of the Clinician Scientist Program Receives W2 Professorship
The alumnus of the BIH Charité Clinician Scientist Program Professor Leo Hansmann was appointed as Professor for Translational Tumour Immunotherapy at the University Hospital Regensburg. The aim of the newly established professorship is to bring research and patient treatment closely together, focusing on cellular immunotherapies for patients with leukaemias and lymphomas. The professorship is endowed by the research-based pharmaceutical company Janssen. Congratulations!
Read more (in German only) |
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News From the Staff Office Equal Opportunities
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Since October, four artistically designed posters can be found at BIH, which serve as a daily reminder of an appreciative and discrimination-sensitive working environment. The posters were designed by artists and art students as part of an open competition. The posters are part of an awareness and prevention campaign that aims to raise awareness of existing discrimination and work with all employees toward an inclusive work environment where everyone feels they belong.
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On September 28+29, 2023, the internal BIH scientific symposium "Sparking Collaborations in Health Research" was held in Teltow. The event, organised by dedicated young researchers, attracted over 250 participants who used the opportunity to discuss current research issues and to network.
Read more |
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All BIH events are noted in our event calender. If you would like to receive a regular overview of upcoming BIH Events, please register here. Many thanks. |
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Until November 3, 2023, you are still able to apply for this year's BIH Digital Health Accelerator Program. The structured program supports Charité/BIH employees, who develop digital health solutions including medical devices for medical application and the healthcare market, with funding, expert mentoring, co-working space access, etc. Read more about the call |
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The BIH Biomedical Innovation Academy (BIA) issues the first call for applications for PhD candidates. The new BIH PhD Program aims to promote interdisciplinarity and support young translational talent. The program co-funds PhD positions for eight excellent translational projects that were selected in an initial competitive process. PhD candidates can apply until November 22, 2023. To the access of the call and the list of projects |
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The Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard-Foundation for the promotion of science and research, initiated in 2004, supports talented young women with children. It aims to enable them to create the freedom and mobility required to further their scientific careers. The Foundation wishes to help prevent science from loosing excellent talent. It is aimed specifically at graduate students and postdoctoral fellows in the fields of experimental natural sciences and medicine. Next application deadline is November 30, 2023. Read more |
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Science x media tandem goes into its second year. Stiftung Charité is calling for scientists and media professionals to team up! The aim of our new annual science x media tandem program is to promote the opening of the life sciences in general and the quality of science communication in the respective subjects in particular. The first cohort of funded tandems from our 2023 call for proposals is now in the process of turning their ideas into reality. Deadlines for this year's call: October 23, 2023, for submitting your ideas without a confirmed media partner; January 31, 2024, for submitting a full application in collaboration with your media partner. Read more about the call |
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