German Center for Child and Adolescent Health
German Center for Child and Adolescent Health
Forschung für Kinder und Jugendliche – für ein gesundes Leben
Healthy children and adolescents through science – for a better life
Childhood and adolescence are vital developmental stages that lay the foundation for lifelong health. However, much of the existing medical knowledge is primarily focused on adults and cannot be directly applied to children and adolescents. The German Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ) addresses the unique needs of young people in medical research and care, thereby enhancing the field of pediatric and adolescent medicine for the long term.
Partner sites
DZKJ partner sites
As a research network, the German Center for Child and Adolescent Health combines the specialist expertise of university hospitals and universities at seven partner sites: Berlin, Göttingen, Greifswald/Rostock, Hamburg, Leipzig/Dresden, Munich and Ulm. Experts from various fields of research work together here on a cross-thematic basis. In addition to the university hospitals and universities, non-university research institutions such as Max Planck Institutes, Fraunhofer Institutes, Helmholtz and Leibniz Centres are also involved. The two-year start-up phase is being funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) with a total of 30 million euros. This will be followed by long-term institutional funding. By fostering strong networks and expanding existing research structures, the DZKJ establishes ideal conditions for interdisciplinary research excellence and the swift application of findings in practice, aiming to promote the long-term healthy development of children and adolescents. In the two-year start-up phase, the focus is particularly on the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic procedures as well as on prevention, taking into account the different developmental stages of adolescents.
The map will take you to the subpages of the seven DZKJ partner sites.
GREIFSWALD / ROSTOCK
The Greifswald/Rostock site has
special expertise in community
medicine, psychosocial
and mental health, as well as
expertise in telemedicine and eHealth.
HAMBURG
The focus of the DZKJ site in
Hamburg is on research into
of rare genetic diseases.
BERLIN
The Berlin site has particular
special expertise in rare genetic and chronic
and chronic inflammatory diseases,
and the investigation of early determinants
for a healthy development
and the development of diseases.
GÖTTINGEN
The Göttingen site has particular
special expertise in the
neurosciences.
LEIPZIG / DRESDEN
The Leipzig/Dresden site stands for
for expertise in the fields of
Epidemiology, environmental research, immunology,
infectious diseases, obesity and mental health.
mental health.
ULM
The Ulm site focuses on
Metabolism, hormones and obesity,
normal and impaired development of the
immune system, as well as mental disorders
and their immunometabolic basis.
MUNICH
The Munich site contributes its
expertise in immunology and metabolism,
computer sciences and cell and gene
and gene therapy.
Contacts
Contacts of the DZKJ Partner Sites
The Göttingen site combines basic and translational research in the neurosciences. The focus is on the development and function of the central nervous system (CNS) and its disturbances in neurological and non-neurological diseases. The special infrastructure includes human CNS biomaterials and disease models, innovative technological developments such as STED microscopy, real-time MRI and the therapeutic application of stem cells, as well as an integrative research data infrastructure.
Partners are the University Medical Center Göttingen, the Georg-August-University Göttingen, the Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences, the German Primate Center and the Fraunhofer Institute for Translational Medicine and Pharmacology ITMP.
Prof. Dr. med.
Jutta Gärtner
DZKJ Chair and Site Director
University Medical Center Göttingen
Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
Robert-Koch-Straße 40
37075 Göttingen
Dr. rer. nat.
Simone Schröder
Site Coordinator
University Medical Center Göttingen
Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
Robert-Koch-Straße 40
37075 Göttingen
The Berlin site integrates basic, translational and clinical research in pediatrics and the life sciences. The focus is on rare genetic diseases, chronic inflammatory diseases, and early determinants of health and disease, as well as the use of systems medicine approaches for the discovery of disease mechanisms and novel therapeutic targets. Key infrastructures include innovative (single cell-) multi-omics technologies, disease-relevant model systems, large patient cohorts, artificial intelligence and digital health, as well as clinical trials in children and adolescents.
Partners are the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medizin (MDC) in in the Helmholtz Association and the Deutsche Rheuma-Forschungszentrum (DRFZ) in the Leibniz Association.
Prof. Dr. med.
Marcus A. Mall
Site Director
Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Department of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, Immunology and Critical Care Medicine
Augustenburger Platz 1
13353 Berlin
Dr. Nora Kofoed-Branzk
Dr. Nancy Freitag
Site Coordination
Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Department of Pediatric Respiratory Medicine, Immunology and Critical Care Medicine
Augustenburger Platz 1
13353 Berlin
The Partner Site Greifswald/Rostock is an interdisciplinary consortium with a unique joint main research focus in community medicine. The overall aim of research is to improve the health situation and quality of life of the population. Access to medical care, prevention and social participation should be ensured for all children and adolescents with innovative care models. The entire community medicine-continuum from epidemiological basic research to health services and prevention research can be realized at the site Greifswald/Rostock. The special infrastructure includes excellent connections to a broad network of medical and community partners, competencies in telemedicine and eHealth, and fully digitized instruments for consent- and ID-management for trusted third party functionalities.
Partners are University Medicine Greifswald, the University Medicine Rostock, and the University Greifswald.
Prof. Dr. rer. med.
Neeltje van den Berg
Site Director
Institute for Community Medicine Section Epidemiology of Health Care and Community Health University Medicine Greifswald Ellernholzstraße 1-2
17487 Greifswald
Daniel Troitzsch
Site Coordinator
Institute for Community Medicine Section Epidemiology of Health Care and Community Health University Medicine Greifswald Ellernholzstraße 1-2
17487 Greifswald
At the Hamburg site, the focus is on researching and treating rare genetic diseases. Research involves identifying genetic diseases, understanding the underlying molecular mechanisms, targeting new therapies, and approving and introducing new treatments. Another focus is research into congenital neurological diseases. In addition, the Hamburg location contributes to the research areas of immunology, especially in the field of transplantation medicine, and to psychosocial and mental health. The location has an excellent infrastructure. This includes, among other things, a platform for drug development and outstanding expertise in the field of systems medicine. Partners of the Hamburg DZKJ location are the University Hospital Hamburg-Eppendorf and the Leibniz Institute for Virology (LIV).
Prof. Dr. med.
Ania C. Muntau
Site Director
University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE)
Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
(Kinder-UKE)
Martinistraße 52
20246 Hamburg
Judith Kösters
Site Coordinator
University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE)
Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
(Kinder-UKE)
Martinistraße 52
20246 Hamburg
In an overarching and holistic approach, the Leipzig/Dresden site combines comprehensive epidemiological surveillance of child health and development in a dynamic environmental context with special consideration of the psyche-soma interaction. The site provides a broad interdisciplinary spectrum of scientific and clinical excellence in pediatric epidemiology, environmental research, immunology, infectious diseases, obesity, and mental health. The research is supported by a powerful complementary infrastructure, including a unique collection of cohorts, cutting-edge technologies (high-throughput platforms, bio- and environmental monitoring, NGS technology), clinical research platforms, expertise on cell reprogramming/gene targeting/genetic engineering as well as GMP-conform facilities.
Participating institutions at the site are the Leipzig University, the Technical University Dresden, the Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research – UFZ as well as the Helmholtz Institute for Metabolic, Obesity and Vascular Research (HI-MAG), the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, and the Robert Koch Institute.
Prof. Dr. med.
Antje Körner
Site Director
Leipzig University, Faculty of Medicine and University of Leipzig Medical Center, Department of Pediatrics Liebigstraße 20a
04103 Leipzig
Dr. rer. biol. hum.
Katja Piotrowski
Site Coordinator
Leipzig University, Faculty of Medicine, Pediatric Research Center Leipzig
Liebigstraße 19
04103 Leipzig
The Munich site contributes its specific research expertise in the fields of immunology and metabolism. The focus is on the identification of genetically determined disease factors, the development of new methods of precision diagnostics (including AI-based analytics) as well as novel strategies of cell and gene therapy. Munich scientists share their infrastructure to unravel disease mechanisms using in vitro and in vivo models (e.g. transgenic large animals) and platforms to design cell- and gene therapy. The translational research program is inspired and guided by the principles of the UN convention on children’s rights.
The Munich site is orchestrated by the LMU with partners at LMU Klinikum, Klinikum of the Technical University Munich, the Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, and the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry.
Prof. Dr. med. Dr. sci. nat.
Christoph Klein
Site Director
Dr. von Hauner Children`s Hospital LMU München Lindwurmstr. 4
80337 Munich
Dr. phil.
Carolin Ruther
Site Coordinator
Dr. von Hauner Children`s Hospital LMU München Lindwurmstr. 4
80337 Munich
The Ulm site focuses on metabolism, hormones and obesity, normal and aberrant development of the immune system, and the immuno-metabolic basis of mental disorders. It contributes expertise ranging from molecular medicine to psychologic, digital and ethical aspects of these foci. Ulm investigates somatic (epi)genetic mechanisms in development and disease, early programming of morbidity and mortality later in life, and coping with the sequelae of life-threatening and chronic diseases. The site conducts prevention programs and develops digital health approaches for health care and health control. These approaches profit from well-established interdisciplinary, trans-sectoral interactions including cooperation with pharmaceutical industry, from strong methodological platforms and from unique sizable patient and population-based cohorts.
Partners are Ulm University, its Medical Faculty, its University Hospital and the Red Cross Blood Transfusion Center.
Prof. Dr. med.
Klaus-Michael Debatin
DZKJ Vice Chair and Site Director
Ulm University
Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
Frauensteige 14a
89075 Ulm
Nicolas Marschall
Site Coordinator
Ulm University
Department of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
Frauensteige 14a
89075 Ulm
About Our Academy
DZKJ Academy
A key focus of the DZKJ is the promotion of excellent young researchers in the field of child and adolescent health. To achieve this, the DZKJ Academy offers a diverse range of programs for scientists and physicians, fostering collaboration among institutions to enhance career development and support research initiatives.
