Child and Adolescent Health

Research for a healthy life

Childhood and adolescence are crucial developmental phases in a person’s life, because this is where fundamental decisions are made about their health for the rest of their lives. A special feature of pediatric and adolescent medicine is that the aspect of the developing and growing organism must be taken into account in cross-organ and cross-disease research. Research at the DZKJ is structured accordingly: it covers a broad spectrum ranging from rare genetic diseases to the development of the central nervous system and other organ systems to common diseases such as allergies and obesity and also includes psychosocial and mental health. Central topics in all research areas are the development of new diagnostic procedures and therapeutic methods, for example in the field of gene and cell therapy, as well as targeted preventive measures. All of this is carried out using state-of-the-art infrastructures. The Community Medicine research area also aims to improve access to medical care.

The German Center for Child and Adolescent Health offers the unique opportunity to pool the extensive and extremely diverse expertise of several German university hospitals, universities and non-university research institutions in basic and applied research. The aim is to ensure the best possible standard of healthcare for all children and adolescents worldwide.

Other Research Areas are:
Cancer

There are approximately 1.4 million cancer patients in Germany – and the number is rising.

Cardiovascular Diseases

Cardiovascular diseases continue to increase and are still the number one cause of death in Germany.

Diabetes

It is estimated that up to 12 million people in Germany could suffer from diabetes by 2040.

Infectious Diseases

Infectious diseases are among the great medical challenges of our time.

Lung Diseases

Every 4 minutes, a person dies in Germany as a result of lung and respiratory disease.

Mental disorders

Almost one in three people experience a mental illness in the course of a year.

Neurodegenerative Diseases

So far, there is no cure for neurodegenerative diseases.