Guest from the Bundestag
Single cell biology and organoids, big data analysis and genome sequencing, biomedical basic research and translation – all these are not exactly topics that the head of the largest parliamentary group in the German Parliament, the Bundestag, usually gets a chance to deal with. When Ralph Brinkhaus visited the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin Mitte this week, the CDU/CSU faction leader spent a lot of time talking to the researchers and taking a tour of the laboratories of the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology (BIMSB). Brinkhaus was impressed by the internationality of the MDC and the cutting-edge research presented to him in the ultra-modern building. "This is where the great German research tradition is carried on into the 21st century," said Brinkhaus.
Martin Lohse, Scientific Director of the MDC, Nikolaus Rajewsky, Head of the BIMSB, and his deputy Ana Pombo, accompanied Brinkhaus and the President of the Helmholtz Association, Otmar Wiestler, on their joint tour. The scientists also explained the pan-European LifeTime project, which is coordinated here in Berlin and in Paris (Institut Curie) and is applying for EU flagship funding. "You can see how important effective research is for a future-proof Germany," was Brinkhaus's summary.
