Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) Professor Christopher Baum

Questions to Professor Christopher Baum, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at the Charité:

1. Professor Baum, you took up the post of Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) in October 2020. What were your first impressions? What were your plans for the first six months and what are your next objectives?

The BIH is excellently positioned for our main concern which is medical translation: On the one hand the Charité as a university hospital for maximum care and on the research side our privileged partner, the Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine. My aim for the initial period was to get a good overview, to accompany the integration of the BIH into the Charité and at the same time to define our program more clearly. The task now is to develop the BIH further into a facility that specifically supports and verifiably accelerates innovation cycles in medicine.

2. How important is being in contact with industry for you? And should large or rather small companies feel that they are being addressed at this point?

When talking about translation, contact with industry is important: a publicly funded research institute cannot develop new therapeutic approaches on its own. At the same time, we support scientists in setting up small start-ups, especially in the digital health sector. We are also very interested in finding new ways of working together. So really everyone can feel addressed.

3. In September 2020, together with Charité and Max Delbrück Centre for Molecular Medicine (MDC), you were awarded the contract from the BMBF for the National Centre for Tumour Diseases in Berlin – what are the next steps and what are the plans?

We are currently developing a joint NCT concept with the five other locations, with which cancer research and treatment in Germany can be raised to a new level. Here in Berlin, a new NCT building is being constructed on the Charité Campus Virchow, in which doctors and scientists will work together to deepen the molecular and systemic understanding of cancer further and, based on this, to design individually appropriate treatment approaches.

4. In your opinion, what is the advantage of the new integration of the BIH as a third pillar in the Charité and what has changed since then?

This can best be explained if the term pillar is not taken too literally and the task of the BIH is seen as a strand that needs to be intertwined with the resources of the Charité without losing its identity and strength. As a result of the integration, translation has become an area of equal importance at the Charité, alongside health care and research and teaching, which is also reflected in my function as the Board member for the translation research department of the Charité.

5. On 11 May, you will host the Charité BIH Entrepreneurship Summit 2021 together with the Charité Foundation. What is the objective of this event and who is it aimed at?

The Charité BIH Entrepreneurship Summit (CBES) has been held for 13 years and is an instrument that brings together top-level representatives of our own and the best international innovation ecosystems. The attractiveness of the event is reflected in the diversity of the top-class participants and the growing number of partner countries. Sustainable access to such a diverse source of inspiring personalities has a positive effect on decision-makers, entrepreneurs and scientists in our translational ecosystem in Berlin. This year we are focusing on topics and innovations that will change patient care in the long term.