Federal Research Minister learns about current infection research at the HZI and DZIF
Bettina Stark-Watzinger visits the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF)
As part of her autumn tour, the Federal Minister of Education and Research, Bettina Stark-Watzinger, visited the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) and the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), which is also represented with its office on the Science Campus Braunschweig-Süd, today. Stark-Watzinger learned about the epidemic management system SORMAS developed at the HZI and about the search for and further development of new antimicrobial agents.
"The Corona pandemic has shown us how important infection research is. The HZI and the DZIF are making an outstanding contribution here. This is especially true with regard to the active role in policy advice and science communication. The HZI is also tackling other challenges such as multidrug-resistant bacteria, which pose a growing threat to our health. Intensive research is also essential here. Therefore, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research will continue to support the research and development of new drugs and innovative approaches against antibiotic resistance," said Federal Minister Bettina Stark-Watzinger during her visit to Braunschweig.
Prof. Dirk Heinz, Scientific Director of the HZI, and Prof. Dirk Busch, Chairman of the DZIF Executive Board and infection researcher at the Technical University of Munich, received the minister in person. "Already at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the HZI and DZIF were able to pool resources and scientific expertise from virology, epidemiology, vaccinology and drug discovery in a very short-term and targeted manner to contribute to the fight against SARS-CoV-2. We were also able to count on the support of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research, for which we would like to express our sincere thanks," said Dirk Heinz.
"In addition, we are pleased that the BMBF continues to expand its funding for research and development of new antibiotics," added Dirk Busch, pointing out that with the German Centers for Health Research (DZG), of which the DZIF is one, a very successful Germany-wide networking structure for translational research has been established over the past ten years.
Heinz and Busch also presented the jointly developed concept for a National Alliance for Pandemic Therapeutics (NA-PATH), which would allow to advance research and development of effective therapeutics already in non-pandemic times in preparation for future outbreaks caused by viral pathogens with pandemic potential. As a strategic alliance of science, industry, regulatory authorities and politics, NA-PATH would build on and benefit from the already successfully established structures and mechanisms of DZIF and HZI. Internationally, networking with initiatives in this field is also of great benefit in order to be able to act globally as quickly as possible in the event of a pandemic.
After the welcome, the scientists of the HZI Department of Epidemiology and the newly established SORMAS Foundation presented the functionality of SORMAS to the Federal Minister. The Surveillance Outbreak Response Management & Analysis System (SORMAS) is an open source software solution for early detection of infections and management of epidemic control. SORMAS is now in use in numerous countries worldwide and has been instrumental in managing major epidemics of Lassa fever, monkeypox, meningitis, measles, and the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, SORMAS was also implemented in the German Public Health Service and has since supported over 100 public health departments in effectively managing their pandemic response processes. Recently, the SORMAS Foundation was established as a non-profit foundation to further support the development and international dissemination of SORMAS.
Stark-Watzinger then toured the modern fermenter facilities in the new drug discovery centre and gained in-depth insight into drug discovery and development at the HZI and DZIF. Thereby, the focus was on screening for new active agents from nature and the preclinical pharmacokinetics/pharmacodynamics platform for validating and optimising suitable drug candidates.
At the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF), about 500 scientists and physicians from 35 institutions nationwide jointly develop new approaches for the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of infectious diseases. Their aim is to translate research results into clinical practice rapidly and effectively. With this, the DZIF paves the way for developing new vaccines, diagnostics and drugs in the fight against infections. Further information at: www.dzif.de.