10/06/2026

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Translational research on Diabetes, Cancer, Neurodegenerative Diseases and Child and Adolescent Health – The 8th Joint Dresden DZG Symposium Goes from Strength to Strength

The German Centers for Health Research (DZG) are a group of eight research centers with institutes spread across Germany that are tasked by the German government to combat common diseases. Their shared goal is to transfer scientific research more quickly into medical practice. There are four DZG institutes in Dresden: the Paul Langerhans Institute Dresden (PLID) of the German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), the German Cancer Consortium (DKTK), the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), and the German Center for Child and Adolescent Health (DZKJ). On May 11th, 2026, the 8th Joint DZG Symposium took place, giving participants the opportunity to learn about the health research happening in Dresden and to foster collaborations between the local institutes of the DZG

Poster presenters line up to give their one-minute pitch. © Mark Leaver, PLID/DZD

The Joint Dresden DZG Symposium has become a cornerstone of the health research community in Dresden, with researchers anticipating the event and attending in large numbers.  This year’s symposium, being the 8th Joint Symposium, represents a long-standing tradition that acts as the model for institutes in the DZG in other locations in Germany.    
This year, the PLID/DZD hosted the symposium with support from the DZNE, DKTK and DZKJ.  It took place at the BioInnovationsZentrum, with 120 participants. 

The political and scientific importance of the DZG was demonstrated by the attendance of Frank Möller and Angela Dargel of the Saxon Ministry for Science Culture and Tourism (SMWK) and representatives of the University Clinic Dresden including Judith Hahn. 

First on the program were Uwe Platzbecker (Spokesperson for the Board of Directors of the UKD) and Esther Troost (Dean, Faculty of Medicine) who welcomed everyone to the symposium.  Next, the four spokespersons for the local DZG told the audience about the scientific highlights: Min Ae Lee-Kirsch represented the DZKJ; Mechthild Krause presented the work of the DKTK; Gerd Kempermann talked about recent progress made at the DZNE; and Michele Solimena represented work by researchers at the PLID. 

In the infrastructure session, Hella Hartman (Facility Leader of the Light Microscopy Facility of the Center for Molecular and Cellular Bioengineering) and Maximilian Krause (Head of the DRESDEN-concept Genome Center) gave talks about the technology available on campus that may be of use to people working in translational medical research.  

At the heart of the DZG symposium are the DZG-overarching projects: a grant scheme designed to increase collaborations between young scientist of the different DZG institutes.  As is traditional, the audience heard about the projects from last year’s DGZ-overarching grant-winners. David Digomann and Marko Barovic talked about a shared project between the DKTK and the DZD.  Representatives from the groups of Lennard Höfs and Jan Clusmann gave an update about a project between the DZNE and DKTK.  This session showed the remarkable progress that can be made in less than one year.  

Anette-Gabriele Ziegler gives her keynote lecture. © Mark Leaver, PLID/DZD

The one-minute flash talks and the poster session that followed showed the diverse projects that are running in Dresden and gave the opportunity for participants to find potential collaboration partners for overarching grants.  
 

The keynote speaker was Anette-Gabriele Ziegler who spoke about changing clinical practice through research into type 1 diabetes (T1D).  In a world-class lecture that spanned a remarkable career, Professor Zeigler talked about screening children for T1D and performing clinical trials.  Here approach informed clinical guidelines on the diagnostic criteria for T1D and gave insight into the pathophysiology of the disease.

To wrap everything up, Min Ae Lee-Kirsch opened the call for this year’s DZG-overarching projects, completing a cycle that we look forward to continuing next year.