Translation

At the first Helmholtz Institute for Translational AngioCardioScience (HI-TAC) conference, researchers from the Max Delbrück Center and Heidelberg University discussed bridging the gap between vascular and cardiac research, and translating research findings to clinical practice.

There are few pregnancy diseases as life-threatening as preeclampsia. But the danger doesn’t end after birth: Mothers with preeclamptic pregnancies have a much higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease later in life. Kristin Kräker from the Experimental and Clinical Research Center is working on an early warning system.

Il-Kang Na, BIH Johanna Quandt Professor and head of a research group at the Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), became the new director of the BIH Charité Clinician Scientist Program on January 1, 2023. Her own journey has made her a role model for aspiring clinician scientists.

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.

Researchers from the ECRC in Berlin, together with scientists from the United States and Canada, have discovered a sugar molecule whose levels are reduced in the blood of patients with particularly severe multiple sclerosis. Their discovery could pave the way for a new therapeutic approach, the team reports in medical journal JAMA Neurology.

MDC researchers have developed a new approach to CAR T-cell therapy. The team has shown in Nature Communications that the procedure is very effective, especially when it comes to fighting follicular lymphomas and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, the most common type of blood cancer in adults.

Many researchers would like to see the results of their work put to use in practical applications. Anja Mähler helps to make this a reality. She leads the Clinical Research Unit at the ECRC, which carries out studies to test basic research findings. We paid her a visit for our series “We at the MDC”.

A simple sugar found in human breast milk and sold as an over-the-counter dietary supplement, promotes myelin repair in mouse models. It correlates with myelination levels in multiple sclerosis patients according to a new study published in JBC by scientists from University of California, Irvine and ECRC.

Berlin will become one of four new National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) locations in addition to Heidelberg and Dresden. This was announced today by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research, recognizing the outstanding achievements of Charité, the BIH and the MDC in advancing cancer treatment and research.

The Berlin biotech start-up T-knife, a spin-off from the MDC together with Charité, has secured investments totaling €66 million. Four venture capital funds committed to the financing in early August. T-knife develops new cancer treatments using modified immune system T cells.