New joint Bio- and Medical Technology Campus for Charité and TU Berlin

Prof. Axel R. Pries, Prof. Andreas Thiel, Steffen Krach, Prof. Christian Thomsen, Prof. Roland Lauster and Prof. Karl Max Einhäupl (l. to r.) (© Charité/Wiebke Peitz)

The Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Technical University of Berlin are expanding their cooperation into a strategic partnership and developing a joint bio- and medical technology campus on Seestrasse in Berlin-Wedding. There, research topics from biotechnology and medicine will be interconnected, and pressing questions in oncology, immunology, and regenerative medicine will be explored. The core of the campus will be the new science building "The Simulated Human." This was recommended for funding in April 2018 by the Science Council with an amount of 34 million euros, co-financed by the federal government and the state of Berlin as part of the program for research buildings at universities (Art. 91b GG).

In the building, medical professionals, natural scientists, and engineers from various disciplines will work side by side to simulate human model systems using new technologies such as tissue cultivation on chip systems or methods of 3D bioprinting. The Charité and TU Berlin aim to make an important contribution to establishing new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies and to replacing animal experiments. On May 24, 2018, the partners presented their joint plans at a press conference at the Red Town Hall in Berlin.

Steffen Krach, State Secretary for Science and Research Berlin:

"The joint initiative of TU Berlin and Charité is pioneering for the further development of our science and health location. The new research building illustrates the great innovation potential that lies in the strategic use of synergies. It also exemplifies the more than two billion euros that Berlin is investing in modern research infrastructure. I am pleased that we are also further strengthening the research of alternatives to animal testing in Berlin."

Prof. Dr. Karl Max Einhäupl, Chairman of the Charité:

"The joint bio- and medical technology campus of Charité and TU Berlin is a sign of excellent collaboration among Berlin's scientific institutions, from which researchers, students, and ultimately our patients will benefit. The research building 'The Simulated Human' plays a decisive role in this and makes an important contribution to the further development of bio- and medical technology in Berlin and Germany."

Prof. Dr. Christian Thomsen, President of TU Berlin:

"TU Berlin and Charité have been connected for many years through teaching and research collaborations. The expansion into a strategic partnership and a joint research campus on Seestrasse in Berlin-Wedding is a logical consequence of this long-standing relationship and addresses current challenges in biotechnology and medicine. Pioneering research approaches in this field are not limited by institutional boundaries but are developed at the interfaces of disciplines. In modern bio- and medical technology, close collaboration between physicians, natural scientists, and engineers is necessary at every step of the research process. The joint research campus will provide space for scientists from TU Berlin and Charité and will become a hotspot for the latest technologies, such as high-resolution analysis of individual cells or tissue cultivation in organ-on-a-chip systems. This project also fuels our joint efforts in the excellence strategy."

Prof. Dr. Axel Radlach Pries, Dean of Charité:

"The interdisciplinary projects of the 'Simulated Human' serve research on human model systems. Developing such models requires close collaboration among biologists, engineers, and medical professionals, which the future research building will enable and promote. This creates a completely new basis for understanding human physiology in its complexity and for better understanding diseases. Based on this, we can also develop new diagnostic and therapeutic strategies."

The Charité and TU Berlin have been cooperating for many years. Currently ongoing third-party funded projects involving both institutions amount to around 19.3 million euros. Together, Charité and TU Berlin, along with other partners, are conducting research in five special research areas, three Einstein Centers, and two Excellence Clusters. In the current excellence strategy competition, Charité and TU Berlin are jointly represented in three applications for excellence clusters.