News
The BIH at Berlin Science Week 2024
This year, the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) was once again involved in Berlin Science Week with several program offerings. There were quizzes at the Natural History Museum, a busy writing session at the Diversithon and plenty of other things to learn and discover during lectures, discussions and a stroll through our exhibition. Once again this year, the intensive personal exchange was particularly popular with the scientists and visitors.
Stem cells as a fascination, quiz as a challenge, BIH spinning top as a reward
With a joint stand, the “Dialogue Platform Stem Cell Research (GSCN)” and the “National Network Office for Gene and Cell Therapy” provided information about stem cell research, the current status of cell therapies and the future of cell-based gene therapies at the Berlin Science Week at the Natural History Museum on November 1 and 2, 2024. Visitors showed great interest: while the children worked with great dedication on the stem cell quiz and focused on the BIH traffic circles as well as the knowledge, the adults were very interested in asking questions: How far along are cell-based gene therapies? Why do research and translation take so long? What can we expect from stem cell research? How can patients and their relatives best deal with the range of untested stem cell therapies?
The scientific crew was delighted to share their knowledge with the visitors and also about the feedback, e.g. “You really taught me a lot today, thank you very much”, was the praise from a third-grader and the comment from a seventh-grader: “This is all really exciting, I'm going to be a biologist one day”. Another great moment for the team was to experience the joy of a teacher from Hesse, who enthusiastically took the school material and commented that she could now finally integrate stem cells into her lessons in a meaningful way.
More visibility for underrepresented groups
At Diversithon, interested parties met for a four-hour workshop jointly organized by the Max Delbrück Center and the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH). This Wikipedia writing workshop focused on editing and rewriting entries on female scientists and other underrepresented groups in science. As an introduction to the topic, Lina Spagert from Munich University of Applied Sciences gave a presentation on the research project “Prof:inSicht”, which aims to research and increase the visibility of female HAW professors. Using selected examples from the research project, Lina Spagert was able to show that female academics publish less and post less frequently on social networks such as LinkedIn, that their articles are cited less often and that their social media posts receive less attention. It also became clear that female scientists have less time available for scientific communication due to care work and receive negative reactions to their activities much more frequently. After a lively discussion with the participants, members of the WomenEdit group, an association of experienced Wikipedians, gave an introduction to writing on Wikipedia and the participants then had the opportunity to make their first changes to Wikipedia articles. Visitors at the Rahel Hirsch Center could also take a walk through the BIH exhibition “Berlin - Capital of Women Scientists”, which has returned to Berlin after international stops in Budapest, Prague and Tokyo.
The events with our Professor Dr. Petra Ritter, who provided information on the use of AI in the healthcare sector and the EU project TEF-Health (Testing and Experimentation Facility for Health AI and Robotics) in various program items, were also very well received. The neuroscientist also presented the potential of brain simulations - a technology that makes it possible to construct digital twins of brains and use them as applications.
Another highlight of Science Week was the Falling Walls Plenary Table “Expanding Global Access to Innovative Medical Therapies” with BIH Professor Christof von Kalle. Investments in pharmaceuticals and biotechnology have advanced innovative therapies such as gene and cell-based treatments and offer new hope for serious diseases. However, access remains limited, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, due to eligibility requirements, geographical barriers and high costs. The expert panel discussed the urgent need for collaborative efforts to ensure equitable and sustainable global access to these transformative therapies.