2nd DZG Munich Day: working together to move more quickly from bench to bedside
More than 170 researchers and clinicians from the eight German Centers for Health Research (DZGs) and invited guests from the world of politics shared insights on current DZG research projects at the 2nd DZG Munich Day in Munich on July 12, 2024. Lively networking and discussion between participants from the various DZGs offered a unique opportunity to develop new joint research projects and innovative research approaches.
“This is already the second DZG Munich Day. For us in Bavaria, that is enough to call it a tradition,” said Markus Blume, Bavarian State Minister for Science and the Arts, in his welcoming message. He thanked the DZGs for their outstanding work and congratulated them on their successes. The mission of the DZGs is to defeat the most pressing widespread diseases: diabetes, infections, lung diseases, cancer, cardiovascular, neurodegenerative and mental diseases as well as diseases in childhood and adolescence.
“The DZGs have already achieved important breakthroughs in the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of widespread diseases,” emphasized DZG speaker Martin Hrabě de Angelis. Among other things, they have advanced the development of precision medicine, company spin-offs and patents, influenced medical guidelines and developed innovative medical devices. This has been made possible by the unique structure of the DZGs. “The German Centers for Health Research are an essential bridge from research to practice,” underscored Matthias Tschöp, CEO of Helmholtz Munich. He reported that international partners are inquiring about the DZG model.
All eight DZGs located in Munich
“Munich is the only location in Germany where all eight DZGs are active,” highlighted Thomas Romes from the Department of Life Sciences of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) in his welcoming address. The speakers of the Munich-based DZGs gave an overview of their respective main research topics.
The events focused on presentations of cross-DZG research projects: The German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) is involved in three of the four cross-DZG projects and co-operations that were presented. Other topics included talks on “DZG activities and synergies” by Martin Hrabě de Angelis, the “Munich Medicine Alliance” by Matthias Tschöp (CEO, Helmholtz Munich) and “Patient participation in the DZGs” by Astrid Glaser (German Center for Diabetes Research, DZD) and Stefan Leucht (German Center for Mental Health, DZPG).
Poster awards for young talents
In addition to the scientific lectures, the presentation of three poster awards for the first time was also an important part of this year’s program. 24 young talents had the opportunity to pitch their research work in a one-minute presentation and exhibit it with a poster. Maike Becker (German Center for Diabetes Research, DZD), Michael Gerckens (German Center for Lung Research, DZL) and Cheng He (German Center for Cardiovascular Research, DZHK) were honored with a poster award.
Planning is already underway for the 3rd DZG Munich Day next year.
Source: DZD