Dr. Djawid Hashemi, a DZHK junior scientist and resident from Berlin, reported on the problem of "moonshine research", i.e. research that physicians often conduct in the clinic after hours. He said that DZHK funding helps him to better manage the balancing act between clinic and research with protected time for scientific projects. He criticized the still rather conservative field of medicine with strong hierarchies: "With the promotion of women and young scientists, the DZHK, for example, acts here like an engine to accelerate change," said the young cardiologist.

Physician and DZIF researcher Dr. Julia Pagel from Hamburg gave an example of how it is possible to reconcile research and family with the help of special scholarships: "A DZIF Maternity Leave Scholarship enabled me to seamlessly continue my scientific project after parental leave." In addition, she says, DZIF funding helped her, as a clinician, to receive additional scientific training in the host laboratory. The scientist sees a challenge in better closing the gap between junior funding and the senior field. "Too often, exciting research projects from residency still get bogged down in the demanding clinical routine," she says.

Communication between science and politics should be a permanent process

The translation gap is the real challenge in many fields of the life sciences, said Prof. Dr. Christian Drosten in an interview. The virologist from Charité Berlin is a scientist at the German Center for Infection Research. Closing this gap costs a lot of money and needs staying power, he said: thorough basic research alone as a basis for broad and applied research takes time. He wished for continuity from politics and emphasized that communication between science and politics must become a permanent process and be seen as a long-term gain.

More insights into regulatory and production processes in science education

"How to translate science into survival?" was the title of the keynote address by Prof. Dr. Özlem Türeci, who joined live. The Chief Medical Officer of BioNTech and DKFZ scientist described how her company had succeeded in harnessing research into individual cancer vaccines for a coronavirus vaccine and human application in record time: Over decades of work, she said, they had developed the mRNA technology to the point where it remained stable in a cell. With lipid envelopes, they would have found the appropriate "packaging system" for the mRNA, and their team would have been able to develop customized mRNA vaccines for cancer patients within a few weeks. With her example, Prof. Türeci made it clear that "science and technology can make a difference, no matter how small the question may be or whether it seems purely basic science." Translational research, moreover, always means looking beyond one's own nose, she said: She would like to see more insight into regulatory and production processes for physicians and scientists in training. It is also important that accompanying research or the innovation of a production technology receive the same recognition as basic scientific findings.

European alliances for the best promotion of talent

The fact that international action is more important than ever, not only for companies like BioNTech, but also for Germany as a research location as a whole, was pointed out by the former Minister for Education Research, Dr. h.c. Annette Schavan. The initiation of the DZG took place during her term of office. Even then, Schavan said, the question was how Germany and Europe could offer the best conditions to attract the best researchers from all over the world. She wanted to see more ambition on this issue: "The great mission lies in European alliances for the best promotion of talent through strategic programs," said the former federal minister.

Improve readiness for spin-offs and get industry partners on board earlier

In a subsequent panel discussion, the spokespersons of the four anniversary DZGs spoke with moderator Dr. Julia Fischer about translational research successes that the individual centers have achieved over the past ten years. But they also pointed out where improvements are needed now and for the future: In order to attract the top people from around the world, one thing is fundamental for the centers, said Prof. Werner Seeger of the DZL: "We need to move away from short-term budget commitments to longer-term funding perspectives." The speakers saw a need for action, in particular, to share and sustainably use research data, facilitate spin-off readiness and meet with industry partners earlier than before. In addition to interaction with industry, interaction with regulators is also an important adjusting screw to accelerate translational research processes, according to Prof. Michael Baumann of the DKTK. DZHK spokesperson Prof. Stefanie Dimmeler also saw room for improvement here: "I would like to see mandatory accompanying training concepts that enable younger colleagues to learn about patenting aspects and interaction with regulatory authorities," she said. Prof. Dirk Busch from the DZIF presented an example of successful cooperation between the centers, which starts with regulatory issues, among other things: The Product Development Unit of the DZIF helps to initiate industry partnerships and with spin-off issues and also supervises two DZHK projects.