“We want to shake up medicine”

Learn from the three spokespersons how ImmunoPreCept is revolutionizing immune system therapies with innovative approaches that could transform the future of medicine.

Interview with rbb24 Inforadio

Prof. Britta Siegmund discusses how the ImmunoPreCept cluster aims to transform medicine by studying early disease stages, using single-cell technologies and AI for prevention, and engaging society to promote precision health.

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Zusammenfassung:

Dies ist ein ausführliches Interview mit Prof. Britta Siegmund, einer der Sprecherinnen des Exzellenzclusters „ImmunoPreCept“, in dem sie erläutert, wie das neue Konsortium die Medizin grundlegend verändern will. Das Interview behandelt die Forschungsschwerpunkte des Clusters, das sich auf die Vorstufen von Erkrankungen konzentriert, die molekularen und zellulären Mechanismen zur Erhaltung von Gesundheit, sowie die Anwendung modernster Einzelzelltechnologien und Künstlicher Intelligenz zur Früherkennung und Verhinderung chronisch-entzündlicher Krankheiten und Krebs. Ferner geht es um das gesellschaftliche Engagement, um ein neues Bewusstsein für Präzisionsprävention zu schaffen, und um konkrete Ziele, die in den kommenden sieben Jahren erreicht werden sollen.

Summary:

This is an in-depth interview with Prof. Britta Siegmund, one of the spokespersons for the ImmunoPreCept Cluster of Excellence, in which she explains how the new consortium aims to fundamentally change medicine. The interview covers the cluster’s main areas of research, which focus on the early stages of disease, the molecular and cellular mechanisms for maintaining health, and the application of state-of-the-art single-cell technologies and artificial intelligence for the early detection and prevention of chronic inflammatory diseases and cancer. It also addresses the cluster’s social commitment to creating a new awareness of precision prevention and the specific goals to be achieved over the next seven years.

Conference: Biology of Health

The Biology of Health – Towards a Molecular Approach to Preventive Medicine conference, organized by our consortium, took place on 19 May in Berlin and brought together leading national and international researchers from across the biomedical and clinical sciences. The meeting focused on how the earliest molecular and cellular changes in health can reveal new opportunities for prediction, prevention, and early intervention—long before disease becomes clinically apparent.

Throughout the day, participants explored how understanding the biological foundations of health is reshaping modern medicine. Discussions emphasized the growing potential of molecular profiling, longitudinal cohort studies, and integrative systems approaches to transform healthcare from a reactive to a truly preventive paradigm.

Central themes of the conference included:
• Unraveling health-maintaining pathways and their role in resilience
• Strategies for improved prediction through molecular and immune signatures
• Understanding health–disease bifurcation, including tipping points and early divergence
• Transitions from remission to full health, and how recovery pathways can be strengthened

The conference showcased the rapid progress and collaborative spirit within this emerging field and underscored the importance of integrating basic research, technological innovation, and clinical insight to build a healthier future.

Full program

Think In event

Think In: How Could Healthcare Change if Diseases Are Diagnosed Before Symptoms Appear?

ImmunoPreCept hosted its first interactive Think In, bringing together researchers, clinicians, students, patient advocates, and individuals interested in health policy to explore a central question: How will healthcare change when technologies allow diseases to be detected before symptoms appear?

Opened by Britta Siegmund (Charité) and Nikolaus Rajewsky (MDC), the event created a space for open dialogue across disciplines and experiences. Participants shared hopes—such as earlier and more effective treatments, improved prevention strategies, and molecular diagnostics supported by AI—as well as concerns about access, data privacy, ethics, and the risk of overdiagnosis.

Using interactive methods including pair exchanges, silent brainstorming, and a live graphic recording by Robin Hotz, the group mapped out how early detection could shift clinical practice, reshape societal expectations, and challenge existing healthcare structures.

The Think In represents an important step for ImmunoPreCept in building a shared understanding of what a future, prevention-oriented healthcare system could look like—one that maintains health rather than reacting to disease. We look forward to continuing these conversations in upcoming events.

Major success in Excellence Strategy

ImmunoPreCept and NeuroCure are advancing Berlin medical research—preventing immune-driven diseases and translating neurological discoveries into patient care.

Discover how two important Clusters of Excellence at Charité, NeuroCure and ImmunoPreCept, are advancing medical research in Berlin. This release highlights ImmunoPreCept’s desire to comprehend how health tips into disease in order to identify and prevent immune-driven ailments before their symptoms manifest. Concurrently, NeuroCure, a trailblazer in brain science, continues its creative endeavors to swiftly translate developments in neurology and psychiatry into medications that benefit patients. Examine how these interdisciplinary projects, motivated by collaboration and cutting-edge research, could revolutionize medical treatment and prevention.