“Experience. Understanding. Knowledge” - The Long Night of Sciences

"You can also see that people find it really exciting here. There are some who come here to find out about studying medicine, but many who really want to understand what Charité does or what's going on in medicine," said Prof. Dr.Christopher Baum, Chief Translational Research Officer and Chair of the BIH Board of Directors at Charité -Universitätsmedizin Berlin, in an interview with radioeins. Visitors to the 25th anniversary of the Long Night of the Sciences were once again given exciting insights into medical research on the Charité campus in Mitte.

Guided tour: On the trail of our movement - a voyage of discovery with our feet!

During the guided tour of the BeMoveD gait laboratory, young and old learned how far different animal species can jump. The participants did warm-up exercises on balance boards before moving on to the highlight of the tour: the lab’s state-of-the-art treadmill. On this, the volunteers ran through a digital mountain landscape and dodged birds. “We can analyze individual gait and running habits to identify possible causes of muscle and joint discomfort and pain,” said Lorenz Schmidt-Bleek, technician at the gait lab. “We help patients through personalized training.”

Workshop: Biobanking up close - research for the health of tomorrow

Blood, tissue, DNA - biobanks collect and store body materials for analysis in research. Biobanks are therefore invaluable for medical progress. In the workshop “Biobanking up close - research for tomorrow's health”, interested parties were able to slip into the role of biobankers themselves and experience how biosamples are collected, processed and stored. The team from the Central Biobank Charité/BIH (ZeBanC) under the interim operational management of Dr. Alexandra Stege looked after the interested guests with great dedication. Together, they explained the individual processes and showed examples from biobank practice. "Younger and older participants can gain an insight into our work, pipette themselves and learn a lot about the further process. It's fun to get in touch, even with colleagues from other departments," says Dr. Alexandra Stege.

Workshop: Anonymization programs put to the test

Talking to a psychotherapist without revealing yourself? Our colleagues from the working group Health Data Privacy showed how this can be done. At their stand, they presented programs that can be used to make voice recordings and even video calls completely anonymous. Visitors tried out a video call in which they could be seen as a virtual avatar. The program replaced their voice with a completely different one while they spoke into a headset. “Many people struggle to access good healthcare for reasons beyond their control, such as socially taboo life circumstances or mental health issues,” said Luke Flanagan, Research Fellow in the Health Privacy Working Group. “By ensuring greater privacy and anonymity, we can bridge this gap and build trust."

Workshop: How data can help heal

Research in the fields of data science and AI promotes medical progress. In the workshop “How data helps heal”, participants were able to find out how the Medical Data Integration Center (MeDIC) ensures the protection and quality of data. "We are experiencing a really high level of interest here, lots of questions and good discussions. It's great to be able to exchange ideas like this," said Prof. Dr. Fabian Prasser, head of the Medical Informatics working group. Scientists from our data and IT research groups presented data platforms such as the Health Data Platform, which ensure secure data processing without sacrificing transparency and traceability. “It's amazing what background knowledge is available in some cases, for example on cloud usage at German clinics,” said Dr. Peter Brunecker, Head of the BIH Core Unit Research IT.

Science Slam: Science in a nutshell

10 minutes of science - At the Science Slam, researchers from Charité and BIH really stepped on the gas to present their research topics in a clear and entertaining way. Leonie Klapproth and Amelie Koch from the Kübler Lab also kept the audience on their toes with their slam “Oh, oh, ovaries!”. The two researchers explained how ovarian cancer develops and how we can prevent it. The slam is part of the “Talk about the Ovaries!” campaign. With it, the two scientists want to show how diverse the organs of the female genital tract are and give ovarian cancer and its prevention more visibility.

Join in: A journey into the world of stem cells

Was it the quiz, the organ game or the BIH numbers game and the stamp for the researcher's diploma as a reward? Visitors of all ages were enthusiastic about the interactive stand of the German Stem Cell Network/ BIH Stem Cell Research Dialogue Platform at Campus Berlin Buch. Daniel Besser, Stefanie Mahler and Iana Lukianova answered the wide-ranging questions on stem cell research with great enthusiasm and commitment and were delighted with the interested exchange.

Interview with Prof. Christopher Baum

Between 7 and 9 pm, Stephan Karkowsky from radioeins of Rundfunk Berlin-Brandenburg accompanied the Long Night of the Sciences live from the Museum of Medical History. In the broadcast, Prof. Dr. Christopher Baum spoke in a German-language interview about Charité, the BIH, translational research and the great interest shown by visitors.

It was a successful anniversary and, as always, a celebration of science, curiosity and dialog with many inquisitive guests and great commitment from the staff. Thanks to all the teams and organizers - we look forward to next year!