Helmholtz Health Summit

What are the molecular causes of diseases? How can artificial intelligence and data science help us to understand them at the level of individual cells? And how can pandemics be avoided or contained in the future? Scientists in the Helmholtz Health research field, with more than 9,000 researchers the largest institution for biomedical research in Europe, are addressing questions like these. At the first Helmholtz Health Summit in Berlin, they joined decision-makers from various sectors of society to develop visions and pathways for a successful transformation of medicine. 

The importance of interdisciplinarity, critical mass and data science in today's medical research was already evident at the beginning in the keynote address by Sarah Teichmann from Cambridge University. Teichmann is co-founder of the Human Cell Atlas (HCA), an international research project involving approximately 2,000 researchers. She praised the contribution that Helmholtz Health has made to this mammoth project of molecularly mapping the cells of the human body at the single-cell level and emphasized that the HCA would not have been possible without modern AI methods. The benefits of the results for research and for patients are immense and are only just beginning to emerge.

The full range of challenges and solutions from Helmholtz Health was presented in the following sessions. From AI-Foundation-Models for medical applications to the prevention and management of pandemics, to breakthroughs in the treatment of certain cancers or Parkinson's disease. What most advances have in common is that the ever-increasing knowledge of the genetic causes and molecular events in diseases is leading to precise treatment, ideally before they even occur. From reparative to preventive precision medicine is the vision for which Helmholtz Health, thanks to its interdisciplinary approach, expertise and critical mass, sees itself well positioned and in which AI plays a key role. “Few organizations have the opportunity we do to make a decisive impact on AI-driven medicine. Helmholtz not only brings together outstanding talent in medical research and AI, but also has in-depth expertise in interdisciplinary biomedical research and provides a unique computing infrastructure,” says Otmar Wiestler, President of the Helmholtz Association.

In addition, the topic of Biomedical Engineering was also a particular focus. This is an internationally exponentially growing field of research that combines the findings of life sciences with application-oriented engineering. Smart prostheses, customized immune cells, or nanocarriers for drugs are examples of applications in this field. Germany is not yet fully exploiting the potential. Helmholtz Health aims to close this gap. “Helmholtz Health is Europe's largest biomedical research institution. We are committed to research that will lead to groundbreaking solutions for a healthier future. State-of-the-art AI technologies integrated into all areas will greatly accelerate the transfer of research into application,” says Matthias Tschöp, CEO Helmholtz Munich, who is currently representing the interests of Helmholtz Health as Helmholtz Vice President.

Next year, Maike Sander, Scientific Director and Chair of the Board of the Max Delbrück Center, will take over this role: “Technological advances and AI-based innovations will fundamentally change medicine and enable precision prevention. Helmholtz Health is well positioned to drive this change. At the Helmholtz Health Summit in Berlin, we will explore how we can use technological advances to improve the quality of life of individuals in an aging society – for a healthy, long life.”