BMBF

MIRACUM – Medical Informatics in Research and Care in University Medicine – is one of four consortia funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research as part of the Medical Informatics Initiative (MII). From 2018 to 2022, the focus was on establishing data integration centers at German university hospitals. Starting in 2023, these data integration centers will be networked beyond university hospitals to regional hospitals and other medical care facilities. In this expansion and extension phase of the MII, the consortia are also growing together. Six junior research groups have now been established out of MIRACUM. In addition, the MII also funds so-called Digital Progress Hubs Health, four of the six hubs of which have emerged from the MIRACUM consortium. In the new funding phase, networking across sector boundaries is being researched in eight clinical and three methodological use cases. MIRACUM is participating in all of these use cases. The consortium also focuses on the education and training of young researchers, and we are driving this forward through the master’s degree program and cross-consortium colloquia, job shadowing and summer schools.

Contact: Prof. Dr. Thomas Ganslandt, Chair of Medical Informatics
www.miracum.org Research report Miracum

Chronic kidney disease is an increasing health problem, affecting approximately 10% of the population. The burden of morbidity and mortality associated with chronic kidney disease derives from progression to end stage renal disease with requirement of dialysis. Patients suffering from chronic kidney disease have a disproportionate risk of cardiovascular diseases including myocardial infarction and stroke. However, the course of progression of kidney and cardiovascular disease in the setting of renal disease is highly variable and factors determining progression and complication rates are to a large extend unknown. The number of randomized controlled trials in nephrology lags behind all other medical disciplines. To address these questions, the FAU is coordinating a large prospective observational cohort study in Germany including the cooperation with the universities of Aachen, Berlin, Freiburg, Hannover, Heidelberg, Innsbruck, Jena, München, Regensburg, and Würzburg and a network of approximately 200 nephrologists from different regions all over Germany. The study aims at gaining important insights on the heterogeneity of disease courses in observing a large number of patients over a long period of time, opening ways for a more deliberate and focused application of existing diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and developing novel and more effective therapies. The GCKD Study is funded by the KfH Foundation of Preventive Medicine and the BMBF. Contact within the Faculty:  Dr. H. Meiselbach, Department of Medicine 4 www.gckd.org Research report GCKD study

The Network of University Medicine (NUM) was founded in April 2020 as part of the crisis management against the COVID-19 pandemic to coordinate clinical COVID-19 research throughout academic medical centers. The idea: wherever joint action and a coordinated approach brings synergies, speed or other advantages, the NUM is intended to promote cooperation between clinical researchers. Accordingly, the NUM’s research projects are clinically orientated and strive for directly practice-relevant findings in order to provide better care for patients or better manage major crises in the field of public health.

Contact: PD Dr. med. Moritz Leppkes, Department of Medicine 1 – Gastroenterology, Pneumology and Endocrinology