Invitation to the MediaBaden-Württemberg’s Minister of Science Visits the Health + Life Science Alliance Heidelberg Mannheim

To learn more about the projects in medicine, life sciences and medical technology currently underway as part of the Health + Life Science Alliance Heidelberg Mannheim, funded as an Innovation Campus, Baden-Württemberg’s Science Minister Petra Olschowski is paying a visit to Heidelberg University. A variety of lectures by scientists from this research alliance are scheduled for 17 May 2024 and are also aimed at interested members of the public.

The Health + Life Science Alliance Heidelberg Mannheim was founded by seven leading university and non-university research institutions in Heidelberg and Mannheim with a view to expand the Rhine-Neckar region into an internationally renowned biomedical-technological hub focusing on the life sciences, the health economy and medical technology. The Alliance is a cooperation between Heidelberg University, a University of Excellence, with its two Medical Faculties, the University Hospitals in Heidelberg and Mannheim, the German Cancer Research Center, the European Molecular Biology Laboratory, the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, and the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim. It is being funded by the state of Baden-Württemberg as an Innovation Campus.

With regard to this long-term research funding, Science Minister Petra Olschowski says: “Health is a central issue for each and every one of us. The Innovation Campus conducts research into pressing scientific issues relating to health and disease in order to quickly bring new products, drugs or procedures for prevention, diagnostics and therapy into application.” In the establishment phase from 2021 to the end of 2024, three thematic priorities are being funded with up to 40 million euros. In addition to 10.7 million euros to finance the establishment and expansion of the Innovation Campus, structural funds of up to 10 million euros annually have been made available as of this year.

The Health + Life Science Alliance Heidelberg Mannheim forms the core of a unique research and development network, integrated into a strong economic environment in the Rhine-Neckar region, which consists of large international companies and over 400 small and medium-sized companies in the healthcare industry. It acts as a pacemaker and catalyst for innovation and is set to be highly attractive to top talent and world-class researchers. In order to accelerate the translation and transfer of scientific knowledge into industry, the Alliance is initiating inter-institutional research programmes and operating joint high-tech platforms. As a non-profit limited liability company (gGmbH), it has now also received an institutional framework.

The keynote speeches scheduled for the Science Minister’s visit will provide insights into current issues in the life sciences and medicine. Dr Sophie Heuer and Prof. Dr Thomas Kuner are set to speak on the topic of interactions between cancer and neuroscience. Noa Borst, Dr Justin Crocker, Dr Lautaro Gandara and Dr Victoria Ingham will address new methods for protection against disease-carrying insects. This will be followed by a lecture by associate professor Dr Tianzuo Zhan, Dr Michael Zimmermann and Dr Maria Zimmermann-Kogadeeva on how the individual microbiome influences the effect of drugs. The lectures will take place from 12.15 p.m. to 1 p.m. in the BioQuant Building, Im Neuenheimer Feld 267, lecture hall 041 (ground floor).

Media representatives are warmly invited to attend and cover the event. Please register by 15 May by email to info@health-life-sciences.de.