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No 10/2024 | December Issue
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Dear
Readers,
As the year draws to a close, we once again recommend a visit to the BIH-curated exhibition “Berlin – Capital of Women Scientists.” This traveling exhibition, which has garnered considerable international attention on its tour of Berlin’s partner cities, is now on view in the Wandelhalle of the Berlin House of Representatives until January 6, 2025. The exhibition pays tribute to female pioneers who overcame incredible odds and paved the way for future generations of successful women scientists to receive the recognition they deserve. It also highlights the work of some of today’s outstanding female researchers. For us at the BIH, equal opportunities and the inclusion of diverse perspectives are essential prerequisites for innovative and cutting-edge scientific work. As a modern research center, we are committed to ensuring a gender- and diversity-sensitive organizational structure. All BIH committees and boards have equal gender representation – and 39 percent of our senior scientists are women. It is vital to raise the visibility of women scientists, and we are thrilled to be able to do our part with this exhibition.
In this final newsletter of the year, we’re also delighted to report on prestigious honors recently received by BIH researchers. In addition, we’d like to remind you of current open calls for two of our entrepreneurship programs: the BIH Digital Health Accelerator (deadline: Jan. 20, 2025) and the GeneNovate program for innovators and entrepreneurs in the field of gene and cell therapies (deadline: Jan. 6, 2025, for the locations Dresden and Berlin).
We wish you and your families health and happiness this holiday season and a good start to the New Year.
Your BIH Board of Directors,
Christopher Baum and Doris Meder
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On November 26th, the exhibition “Berlin – Capital of Women Scientists” was opened in the Wandelhalle of the Berlin House of Representatives. After words of welcome from the President of the House, Cornelia Seibeld, and Dr. Doris Meder, the acting administrative director of the BIH, Claudia Langenberg, BIH Professor for Computational Medicine, gave a brief insight into her career path as a scientist and the hurdles she has faced along the way. Claudia Langenberg is one of the female scientists portrayed in the exhibition. Exemplary for all Berlin universities and research institutions, the traveling exhibition presents 22 woman scientists from different eras and disciplines to make their achievements accessible to a broad public. The exhibition can be seen until January 6th, 2025, Monday to Friday, 9am – 6pm (except plenary Thursdays and public holidays) in the Wandelhalle in the House of Representatives. Read more
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The BIH and Bruker Corporation (Bruker) have entered into a strategic partnership to further develop spatial tissue typing technologies (MALDI imaging) in translational research and clinical trials. A particular highlight is the innovative MALDI HiPLEX-IHC (AmberGen), which enables the simultaneous analysis of up to 150 target proteins. These technologies will help to deepen our understanding of disease processes and drive the development of new diagnostic and prognostic tools. Read more
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When the liver is damaged by chronic diseases, it has the ability to regenerate itself. Cancer, however, can develop during the regeneration process. A team of researchers led by Ludovic Vallier, Einstein Professor for Stem Cells in Regenerative Therapies at the BIH, recently showed that liver regeneration and tumor development might share common underlying mechanisms. The European Research Council (ERC) has now awarded an ERC Advanced Grant, worth €2.5 million over five years, to Vallier. He aims to use the grant to further advance the understanding of the mechanisms behind liver regeneration and tumor development, leveraging this knowledge to devise novel therapies tailored to patients’ individual needs. We warmly congratulate!
Read the press release
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Professor Simon Haas has been awarded the Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities (BBAW) Prize for the Promotion of Cancer Research, sponsored by the Monika Kutzner Foundation, for his outstanding achievements. The scientist heads a working group in the joint research focus of the BIH, Charité and the Max Delbrück Center. He researches the causes and develops new concepts for the treatment of blood cancer. The BBAW prize is endowed with 10,000 euros. Congratulations! Read more
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On November 18, 2024, the Einstein Foundation Berlin, in cooperation with the QUEST Center for Responsible Research at the BIH, presented this year's Einstein Foundation Award for Promoting Quality in Research worth a total of 500,000 euros. The recipient of this year’s Individual Award, Elisabeth Bik, is a microbiologist, science whistleblower, and independent consultant for scientific integrity. Bik is a microbiologist, science whistleblower, and independent consultant for scientific integrity. Bik has uncovered the use of fraudulent or erroneous data for more than 7,600 scientific papers and has shed light on the practice of selling authorship for fabricated studies. This year’s Institutional Award recognizes the relevance of PubPeer, a platform for rapid post-publication review and discussion of published scientific data. The 2024 Early Career Award goes to the project PixelQuality by Christopher Schmied and Helena Jambor. Congratulations! Read the press release of the Einstein Foundation Berlin
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News From the BIH Biomedical Innovation Academy (BIA)
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In a two-stage selection process of the Call 2024_II, a total of 20 new fellows were selected for the BIH Charité (Junior) (Digital) Clinician Scientist Program. In total, ten candidates qualified for the BIH Charité Clinician Scientist Program (CSP) and seven for the BIH Charité Junior Clinician Scientist Program (JCSP). Once again, two grants for the CSP are being funded by the German Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ) and one JCSP grant is funded by the Alliance4Rare. In addition, two candidates were accepted for the Digital Clinician Scientist Program (DCSP) and one candidate for the Junior Digital Clinician Scientist Program (JDCSP). Both DCSP grants are funded by Stiftung Charité (project focus: digital translation). In terms of gender equality, the BIH Charité (Junior) (Digital) Clinician Scientist Program acts as a best-practice model: Across all funding 10 men and 10 women were selected. The new fellows are expected to start their fellowships on March 1, 2025. Welcome on board to all of them!
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Professor Akira-Sebastian Poncette, alumnus of the Digital Clinician Scientist Program and based at the Institute of Medical Informatics and the Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine at Charité, has been appointed to the professorship of Clinical Implementation Science in Digital Health (W2 professorship) at Charité. In this professorship, Poncette will research the evidence-based implementation of digital technologies such as telemedicine and clinical decision support systems in healthcare. In addition, he is deputy director of the Institute of Medical Informatics, head of the Intelligent Patient Monitoring working group and a consultant at the Charité's Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine. Congratulations! Read more
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Clinician Scientist Alumna Appointed to W2 Professorship
PD Dr Thi Minh Tam Ta has been appointed for a W2 professorship in the field of gender studies in the context of mental health, social change, flight, and migration. Her research focuses on the mental health of vulnerable groups, including refugee women and migrant professionals, taking into account gender-specific aspects. Within the professorship, she also strives for close cooperation and networking to strengthen research in the field of global mental health at Charité. Read more here (in German).
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Clinician Scientist Heads DFG Emmy Noether Junior Research Group
Dr. med. Jochen Michely, fellow of the BIH Charité Clinician Scientist Program at the Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at CCM, receives funding within the Emmy Noether Programme of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) to lead an independent junior research group for a period of six years. By bridging a gap between basic neuroscience research and clinical psychiatry, the new junior research group investigates neurocognitive processes in depression with the goal of improving antidepressant treatment strategies in the future. Congratulations from our side! Information on Dr. Michely's Emmy Noether Group can be found here (in German).
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Digital Clinician Scientist Awarded With Humboldt Prize
Jan Roediger, MD/Ph.D, Fellow of the BIH Charité Digital Clinician Scientist Program and physician at the Department of Neurology at Charité, has been awarded with the Humboldt Prize for his dissertation. During his doctoral research, Dr. Roediger developed the software "StimFit," which significantly streamlines the process of programming deep brain stimulation devices for Parkinson’s patients through data-driven approaches. More information is available here (only visible in the INTRAnet; only in German).
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Digital Clinician Scientist Recognized With the Dgooc Research Award
Tu-Lan Vu-Han, MD/Ph.D, Fellow of the BIH Charité Digital Clinician Scientist Program and surgical resident at Center for Musculoskeletal Surgery (CMSC) has been recognized with the DGOOC 2024 research award of the German Society of Orthopedic and Orthopedic Surgery (DGOOC). Her research focuses on data-driven solutions to anticipate scoliosis development in the era of disease-modifying therapies. Congratulations! For more information (in German) please click here.
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News from the BIH QUEST Center
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Starting in January 2025, the BIH QUEST Center will launch its webinar series “Preclinical Rethinking”. The seminar series, which is part of the DECIDE II project, is designed to promote robust and efficient practices in preclinical research while fostering a stronger, more connected research community. It will offer fresh insights, innovative tools, and practical strategies to enhance the quality and impact of preclinical studies. Participation is free and open to all.
Read more
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Join us on June 27, 2025, at the GeneNovate Investors' Day in Berlin to connect your gene and cell therapy startup or project with potential investors. Don't miss this opportunity to present your innovative technology and apply by December 16th. Applications should be submitted via our online portal.
Read more
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This year’s call for applications for the BIH Digital Health Accelerator Program is live. The target group is all Charité/BIH employees with internal and cross-institutional digital health projects. Funding is available for the development of software-based (medical) products for patients and healthcare systems. This year, we encourage applications also in three focus areas: Cardiovascular & Metabolic Diseases, Patient Monitoring for Ambulatory Surgical Care, and Pediatrics & Neonatal Care. The application deadline is January 20, 2025. For any questions, please contact us here. Read more about the call
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The GO-Bio initial conceptual phase of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) supports life science exploitation ideas with 100,000 euros for one year. Applications can be submitted until February 15, 2025. The goal is for individuals or research teams to further refine their idea with a special focus on market potential. Charité BIH Innovation (CBI) provides advisory support for the application, so please contact the CBI team. Read more
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