Helmholtz

Joint press release by the Max Delbrück Center and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research One...

The founding director of the Max Delbrück Center, physician and pharmacologist Detlev Ganten, celebrates his 85th birthday on March 28, 2026. Without his commitment, our research center would not exist as we know it today. Once again, we say thank you and offer our heartfelt congratulations!

The Max Delbrück Center’s Global Fellow Postdoctoral Program aims to establish a structure to foster greater interdisciplinary research among different labs. Our first winners of the three-year fellowship, who will be joining us as members of multiple labs, start this month.

Helmholtz-funded projects highlight a new focus at the Max Delbrück Center on biomedical engineering. By combining biomedicine, artificial intelligence, and engineering, basic research can be more quickly translated into therapies.

On February 18, the new Helmholtz President Martin Keller met with the Max Delbrück Center staff Berlin-Buch and exchanged ideas. He is currently visiting all 18 Helmholtz Centers to gain first-hand insight into the wide range of research conducted across the association.

The Max Delbrück Center has recently completed construction of a new Demonstrator Lab as a testbed to reduce the environmental impact of biomedical research. The insights gained will be applied to all new building renovations across the center.

Ines Lahmann has won a Helmholtz Enterprises Field Study Fellowship. She will use the funding to evaluate the commercial potential of patient-specific in vitro models of the human neuromuscular system as platforms for disease modeling and drug screening.

Clara Vázquez García has won a Helmholtz Doctoral Award and a Helmholtz Enterprises Field Study Fellowship. She plans to use the funding to further develop a tool that can assess a person’s DNA repair and immune system fitness.

Supporting each other and standing up for our values: Resilience is the theme of the 4th MDC Pride Symposium, hosted by our LGBTQI+ community on July 18 at MDC-BIMSB. For the first time, researchers will also take part in the Berlin Christopher Street Day parade under the Max Delbrück Center banner.

The Helmholtz Association has approved €30.8 million in funding for the Center for AI–Accelerated Molecular Innovations in Medicine to be located at the Max Delbrück Center. Researchers will use new technologies to develop AI-driven strategies for precision treatment and prevention.