The two research institutions have signed a joint Memorandum of Understanding
The development of new strategies for processing and analysing life science data, the further development of scientific imaging, the search for new active substances for drugs: These are the tasks that the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) want to tackle together in the future. The two research institutions, which are among the international leaders in their fields, have now signed a joint Memorandum of Understanding to intensify their cooperation.
The research spectra of the two Heidelberg-based institutions are closely intertwined: EMBL covers broad areas of molecular biology at the highest scientific level and researches the fundamental processes of life. The expertise of the internationally renowned DKFZ researchers ranges from basic cancer research, which is strongly influenced by molecular biology, to all steps of translation and early clinical trials. "Our research interests coincide in so many areas and this is precisely why we want to combine our scientific strengths in the future," says Edith Heard, Director General of EMBL. Michael Baumann, Chairman of the Board of DKFZ, adds: "We want to facilitate the exchange of research data, share technology platforms and offer talented young scientists the opportunity to conduct research at both institutions."
EMBL and DKFZ have already been successfully collaborating in some research areas, for example in chemical biology for the development of new active substances or in the evaluation of tumour genome sequencing data. This cooperation is now to be considerably expanded and intensified. Further joint research interests exist in particular in the area of developing new AI applications for medicine and life sciences. The further development of innovative scientific imaging techniques as well as molecular single-cell analyses that can depict the evolution of cancer tumours are also to be jointly advanced in the future.
