Dear Reader,

In March 2024, Dr. Simon Haas received a funding commitment from the German Research Association (DFG) for a Heisenberg professorship in systems hematology at the BIH. Haas, who leads a lab within the joint research focus of the BIH, Charité, and the Max Delbrück Center, is seeking to understand interactions between stem cells and immune cells. In a groundbreaking discovery, he found a previously unknown protective mechanism that prevents blood cancer from developing from stem cells. The professorship is funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and aims to enable outstanding early career scientists to continue their research careers. After the five-year funding period, the BIH will make the professorship permanent. Congratulations!

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On April 9, 2024, the BIH Charité Advanced Clinician Scientist Pilot Program (AdCSP) was successfully evaluated by an external panel of experts. The interim evaluation took place as part of a virtual colloquium. The presentations of the funded medical department directors which highlighted the career development and successes of the fellows, the sustainable structural changes within the departments, as well as the enthusiasm of the fellows convinced the reviewers and they voted unanimously for the continuation of the program in the second funding period for three years.

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PD Dr med. Marie Schafstedde, fellow of the BIH Charité Digital Clinician Scientist Program and pediatrician at the Clinic for Pediatric Cardiology/Congenital Heart Defects at the German Heart Institute Berlin (DHZC), together with her colleagues Dr med. Anastasia Schleiger and PD Dr. med. Sarah Nordmeyer have been awarded the Gerd Killian project grant worth 60,000 euros. As part of a study at the DHZC involving 50 patients, the award-winning research project aims to identify possible candidates for a "hepatic factor" that is still unknown and whose absence is thought to be responsible for the development of pathological vascularization in pulmonary vessels. These are serious concomitant diseases in patients with a single-chamber heart. We wish Marie Schafstedde and her team every success!

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Professor Arash Haghikia from the Department of Cardiology, Angiology and Intensive Care Medicine at Charité’s German Heart Centre and alumnus of the BIH Charité Advanced Clinician Scientist Program (AdCSP) has been appointed W3-Professor of Cardiology at the Ruhr University Bochum and Head of the Cardiology Clinic at the University Hospital St. Josef-Hospital in Bochum. Haghikia's clinical focus is on interventional cardiology, catheter-based aortic valve therapy and intensive care medicine. As part of the AdCSP funding, his scientific research focused on the role of gut microbiome-dependent metabolites in the development and progression of cardiovascular diseases. In line with this, Prof Haghikia would also like to establish a cardiometabolic research focus in Bochum. Our heartfelt congratulations!

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dentalXrai, a spin-off from Charité BIH, after funding and support by Charité BIH Innovation with its Digital Health Accelerator Program, has created innovative AI-based tools that enable the detection of dental pathologies and restorations with outstanding accuracy and speed. The start-up was acquired by Align Technology, Inc., a global medical device company focused on dentistry. The company has recently initiated the marketing of X-Ray Insights’, a tool based on dentalXrai technology and designed to streamline X-ray assessments, improve patient communication, and enhance the digital treatment experience in dental surgeries.

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In November 2023, the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Charité, the BIH and Enterprise Singapore (ESG) for a co-innovation program laid the foundation for a professional network of start-ups from Singapore with renowned scientists from Charité and BIH to promote joint research and transfer projects and have jointly established a program to promote innovation. Following the successful application of start-ups from Singapore, we are now looking for project partners at Charité/BIH. Interested Charité/BIH researchers can now join forces with a start-up until May 30, 2024, to apply for funding for the project in the second project phase together with a "full proposal" (until September 2024). The list of start-ups with their specialist focus and the innovative technologies they offer can be found here.
If you are interested, please contact Hana Hastor by May 15, 2024.

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ORCHESTRA has developed a comprehensive strategy to data management based on two pillars: data sharing and data protection. BIH has supported the approach by introducing standard terminologies to facilitate data harmonization and standardisation with the aim to establish a common language in COVID-19 research; additionally, BIH developed a tool for data pseudonomization for personal data protection. The project has obtained a one-year extension and will run until the end of 2024.

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To mark the new season of the CHARITÉ series, Charité and FUTURIUM hosted a talk on April 10, 2024 entitled "Which future scenarios in medicine are desirable and what can we do to make them a reality?" Will a score decide what treatment we receive? Challenges and the question of which future scenarios in medicine are desirable and what we need to do to make them a reality were discussed. The panel of experts included Claudia Langenberg, BIH Professor of Computational Medicine.

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At this year’s DMEA, Europe´s leading digital health conference and trade fair, teams from the BIH research groups of Christian Conrad, Roland Eils, Vince Madai, Fabian Prasser, Peter N. Robinson, Sylvia Thun and representatives of the University Telemedicine Network (UTN) and HEALTH-X dataLOFT presented themselves at a joint stand of the "Berlin-Brandenburg Capital Region" from April 9 to 11, 2024. At the booth, the participants were able to network across working groups and inform numerous interested visitors about their work. Petra Ritter, BIH Johanna Quandt Professor for Brain Simulation, was also invited as a panel guest at the Berlin Partner evening reception.

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Sylvia Thun in an interview at the DMEA

The BIH QUEST Center hosted the Summer School on Decolonising Global Health focusing on Biomedical Sciences, Research, and Education from March 25-28, 2024. Funded by DAAD and Einstein Foundation Berlin, the event attracted a diverse group of decolonisation experts, scholars and practitioners emphasizing principles of responsible research to promote a more equitable and inclusive scientific community.

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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.