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THE CENTERS AND THEIR AIMS
TRAIN
As part of TRAIN, new research centres have been created
for collaboration at all stages in the developmental chain of
creating new treatments to fight infectious diseases, from
discovering new drugs through early clinical trials.
TRAIN stands for “Translational
Alliance in Niedersachsen (Lower
Saxony)”. This collaborative enterprise combines the expertise and infrastructures
of research institutions within and outside of universities in
order to more rapidly bring potential drugs and vaccines from
the laboratory to the patient. Researchers in TRAIN will jointly
transfer knowledge gained from basic research into new biomedical methods for diagnosis, therapy and prevention. The aim
is to integrate the resources of research institutions in Lower
Saxony in order to establish the whole developmental chain
of medical research, from the initial discovery of a new active
agent to creating a medication.
BRICS – Braunschweig Integrated Centre
for Systems Biology
The TU Braunschweig and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection
Research (HZI) have launched a new joint centre for bioinformatics and systems biology at the TU Braunschweig called the
Braunschweig Integrated Centre for Bioinformatics and Systems
Biology. The purpose of the centre is to provide a place for
researchers to study the behaviour of complex biological
systems, how they regulate themselves and how they can be
regulated. Researchers aim to discover starting points for new
medications and therapies and to achieve a detailed understanding of functional host-pathogen interactions. In its research
activities, the centre will closely integrate experimental biology
and chemistry with the engineering sciences (feedback control
systems, Institute for Scientific Computing, informatics).
New Drug Research Centres at HZI and LUH
The new DRFG (Drug Research and Functional Genomics Centre)
in Braunschweig and BMWZ (Centre of Biomolecular Drug
Research) in Hannover will combine their efforts in the search
for drugs from new natural substances. Scientists at the DRFG
at the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research will examine
microorganisms and plants from nature’s vast repertoire in order
to identify substances that are potentially effective against infectious diseases or cancerous tumours. BMWZ researchers at the
Leibniz University will develop such
compounds chemically into potential
drug candidates. These leads will
then be pursued into the initial
stages of clinical trials.
CONTACT
TRAIN-Administrative Office
c/o Twincore GmbH
Feodor-Lynen-Straße 7
30625 Hannover
[email protected]
Telephone: 0511 220027-222
www.translation-alliance.com
THE PARTNERS
TRAIN is a collaborative project of:
The Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and
Experimental Medicine (ITEM)
The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University
of Hannover
The Helmholtz Centre for Infection
Research, Braunschweig (HZI)
The Hannover Medical School (MHH)
The University of Veterinary Medicine
Hannover, Foundation (TiHo)
The Technical University of Braunschweig
(TU BS)
TWINCORE – Centre for Experimental and
Clinical Infection Research
Vaccine Project Management GmbH (VPM)
CRC Hannover – Clinical Research Center Hannover
The CRC is a collaborative project of the Fraunhofer Institute for
Toxicology and Experimental Medicine (ITEM), Hannover Medical
School (MHH), and the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research
(HZI). Under this framework a test centre for Phase I clinical
studies is being created on the ITEM campus. This centre will be
the critical link in the developmental chain for new medications
being created by TRAIN. It is here that research findings and
data from the pre-clinical phases of development will be efficiently translated into clinical research. The Clinical Test Center
will thereby close the gap between the development of a drug
and its clinical application in patient care, a gap that has been,
until now, the biggest hurdle in the course of developing new
medications, diagnostic agents and therapies.
Centre for Infectious Disease and Zoonosis Research,
at the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover
Infectious diseases play a key role in animal health and food
safety. Zoonosis is of special importance for human medicine, as
it is estimated that two thirds of all infectious diseases in humans
originate in animals. At the University of Veterinary Medicine
Hannover (TiHo), there are a number of institutes and clinics
whose focus is on infectious disease. Targets of their research
include animal health and food safety, avian influenza (bird flu),
classical swine fever (hog cholera), paratuberculosis, borreliosis,
salmonella infections, campylobacter, and streptococci. The
projects are devoted to
discovering the mechanisms of host-pathogen interactions, as
well as to developing new strategies
for the prevention
and treatment
of infectious diseases in animals
and humans.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine (ITEM)
undertakes research by contract related to the broad field of
human health. This includes disease prevention, research into
new diagnostic methods and treatment concepts, toxicological
research and preclinical and clinical approval studies. Quality
assurance in the manufacturing processes of medicinal products (good manufacturing practice – GMP) and experience in
conducting clinical trials of those products are critical in the
development of new therapies and drugs. An example of the
Institute’s work is its specialty in clinical studies related to allergies and illnesses of the respiratory tract such as asthma and
COPD.
The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz
University of Hannover (LUH) offers
TRAIN the extensive expertise of its faculty of natural sciences
in chemical and biological drug research. In addition to synthetic
chemistry, research in infectious diseases and oncology, the
faculty has particular expertise in the isolation and identification
of new medicinal substances, especially those derived from
plants. Also, its institutes in biotechnology and engineering
provide the knowledge needed for the technical implementation
of findings obtained from basic research.
Researchers at the Helmholtz Centre
for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig investigate infectious disease mechanisms and defences.
Understanding what renders bacteria or viruses pathogenic is
a key step in developing new medications and vaccines. The
researchers at the HZI focus especially on vaccine research,
immunology, natural product research, and structural biology.
The Hannover Medical School (MHH) is a
world-renowned institution in the areas of organ
and stem cell transplantation and manages a comprehensive
tissue bank. Because of the extensive transplantation programme at the MHH – and the complex challenges that transplantation poses to the immune systems of patients – clinical
research into infectious diseases is a special area of interest.
The MHH is the most successful German medical school in
terms of research (DFG-Ranking 2009) and is the highest performing clinical university hospital in the area of tertiary care.
The University of Veterinary Medicine
Hannover (TiHo) is long renowned as a centre
of excellence in veterinary medicine. It is a
vibrant research institution, combining modern science with
university tradition. At TiHo scientists conduct animal-focused
research for the benefit of animals – and ultimately for the
benefit of humans as well. This is especially apparent in the field
of zoonosis research, where the areas of veterinary and human
infectious disease intersect.
The Technical University of Braunschweig
(TU BS) is the oldest technical university in
Germany. Its faculty combines the technical and mathematical
knowledge of engineers with classical and molecular biology.
Scientists at the TU Braunschweig Biocentre specialise in
microbial, genetic and cell-biology research, profiting from the
extensive research portfolio of a complete university, which
includes access to engineering expertise in new bioinformatics
approaches that will be integrated in TRAIN.
The Vakzine Projekt Management GmbH
takes vaccines and biopharmaceuticals from
the laboratory to clinical trials. VPM provides
consultation and project management services along the
entire value production chain utilising a network of experts
drawn from academia and industry. The strengths of VPM are
its capacity to assume the responsibility as sponsor for clinical studies, its network of experts, its track-record in using
and expanding a validated development structure, and its
system of integrated project management and risk management through continuous stage-gate processes.
TWINCORE – Centre for Experimental and
Clinical Infection Research has a “twin
core” that combines the basic research and clinical activities
of physicians at the MHH (Hannover Medical School) and basic
research by scientists at the HZI (Helmholtz Centre for Infection
Research) who work side by side at TWINCORE in Hannover.
Basic science researchers investigate mechanisms that play a
role in host-pathogen interactions. In collaboration with clinicians they develop novel diagnostic methods, vaccines and
therapies for patients. The latest findings from basic research
can rapidly translate into new therapies or diagnostic procedures for patients. At the same time, questions arising from
clinical practice stimulate new research endeavours.