LifeTime

EMBO fellow Ilan Theurillat investigates how the most lethal subtype of breast cancer develops. He is driven by many unanswered questions such as: Why do fibroblasts wrap themselves around the triple negative tumor like a shield? Can such a tumor form from a single cancer cell?

Nikolaus Rajewsky wants to be able to detect diseases as they develop in the cells and fight them before they begin to cause damage. The systems biologist is establishing networks at all levels to help cell-based medicine achieve a breakthrough in Berlin and across Europe.

Two events, three days: researchers, industry, policymakers and the public are invited to attend the LifeTime Conference 2.0 on June 16 and 17 and the Berlin Summer Meeting 2021 on June 18 to discuss the latest technologies, tools and methods to tackle disease. Both virtual events are free.

Virchow 2.0 has been chosen as one of the 15 finalists in the second round of the BMBF’s Clusters4Future competition. The Berlin-based network, coordinated by the MDC, aims to build an AI-driven biomedical innovation ecosystem that will bring cell-based medicine to the clinic.

Hundreds of researchers, clinicians, industry leaders and policy makers from all around Europe are united by a vision of how to revolutionize healthcare. In a perspective in Nature and the LifeTime Strategic Research Agenda they now present a roadmap of how to leverage the latest scientific breakthroughs and technologies over the next decade, to track, understand and treat human cells throughout an individual’s lifetime.

In light of the pandemic, the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) is pooling together its resources for projects that advance the understanding of SARS-CoV-2, while scaling down its regular research operations to a minimum. Here’s an overview of the MDC’s current collaborations and plans.

The Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) is launching a strategic partnership with the International Institute of Molecular and Cell Biology (IIMCB) in Warsaw. In an initial step, science managers from the two research centers will exchange knowledge and experience.

A new technology platform at the Max Delbrück Center is using human stem cells to develop complex tissue cultures known as “organoids.” This enables researchers to gain a better understanding of disease processes by simulating them in 3D. Neuronal diseases will be modeled first and then other diseases.

Ahead of the European Council negotiations on the next Multiannual Financial Framework, academic and industry leaders supporting the LifeTime initiative, have called members of the European Union into action. They ask to preserve the existing Horizon Europe budget and put forward ten recommendations to strengthen EU health research.

On May 8, the head of the CDU/CSU parliamentary group visited the BIMSB, our new research building in Mitte. Ralph Brinkhaus praised the excellent research of the MDC.