The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (German Research Foundation - DFG) approved the establishment of seven new Clinical Research Units at a session of the relevant Grants Committee held on 5 December 2003.

Twelve Clinical Research Units were originally established in 2001 in response to recommendations contained in a white paper. Today, the DFG funds a total of 21 units at 15 universities. Clinical Research Units were introduced to intensify networking between basic research and clinical application, to create research oriented structures at university clinics and to establish these long term. On the one hand, the programme centres on supporting particularly proven groups of researchers by appointing a new leader for this group. On the other, it aims to promote innovative research projects at medical faculties. The funding is scheduled to run for six years. It particularly supports young researchers and makes a sustainable contribution to raising the profile of universities.

Lung transplants continue to be the only treatment which promises a cure for patients suffering from serious diseases to this organ. However, a lack of donor organs means that almost one third of all patients die before the life-saving operation can be carried out. Yet patients who have had a lung transplant also have much lower average post-operational life expectancy than heart transplant patients, for example. The newly established Clinical Research Unit "Lung Transplantation" at the Hannover School of Medicine is doing research into how alternative approaches can help to improve the situation of lung patients, for example by obtaining donor organs from animals or using stem-cell based therapies to stop organ rejection.

A Clinical Research Unit is being established at the University Clinic Wrzburg to gain a better understanding of "Attention Defic
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Contact: Dr. Annette Schmidtmann
annette.schmidtmann@dfg.de
40-228-885-2243
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
11-Dec-2003