From Quantum Computing to Preventive Medicine: Einstein Foundation Supports Research in Eleven New Projects

The funded projects cover a broad spectrum: from advances in quantum computing and innovative approaches in immuno-oncology and infection biology to socially relevant research on political participation and urban planning, as well as studies on mental health. The largest new project is the Einstein Center for Early Disease Interception, which, following a two-year preparatory phase, is now launching as a consortium of twelve Berlin-based institutions with the goal of advancing the pioneering field of cell-based preventive medicine. Already in November, the Scientific Commission of the Einstein Foundation recommended funding for the Einstein Research Unit “Technologies in Global Health – From Innovation to Users (and Back),” through which the Berlin University Alliance strengthens its Grand Challenges Initiative Global Health. The Einstein Foundation is providing the Berlin University Alliance with around four million euros for this initiative.

Einstein Berlin/HUJI Research Project
 

Quantum Computing
The research project Error Suppression, Correction, and Mitigation in Adiabatic Quantum Computation, led by Professor Christiane Koch of Freie Universität Berlin, together with Senior Lecturer Adi Pick and Professor Raam Uzdin of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI), aims to make adiabatic quantum computing more reliable. In this approach, the quantum system evolves continuously from an initial state toward the optimal solution of a complex problem, as encountered in physics, finance, or logistics. In contrast to digital quantum computing, where qubits are coupled in clearly defined discrete steps, the adiabatic process changes the system smoothly and gradually. To achieve a true quantum advantage—computational performance beyond the capabilities of classical computers—errors in the system must be detected and corrected. Until now, research has primarily focused on digital quantum computing. This project therefore develops error-correction and error-mitigation strategies tailored specifically to analog methods.

Immuno-Oncology
The German-Israeli research team led by Professor Johannes Huppa (Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin) and Johnathan Arnon (Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center) is developing new approaches to improve T-cell-based therapies against cancer in their project, A Novel Preclinical Platform for Selecting T-cell Receptors (TCR) in Adoptive TCR-T-cell Cancer Therapy. These therapies are based on the adoptive transfer of genetically engineered cytotoxic T-cells (TCR-T-cells) which carry a tumor antigen-specific TCR to recognize and destroy solid cancers. In clinical practice, however, tumors may evade detection, T-cells may be weakened by previous therapies, and autoimmunity may arise. In addition, standard lab models fail to accurately evaluate the interactions between tumor and T-cells or inform clinical outcomes. This project investigates the cellular and molecular mechanisms of TCR T-cell tumor recognition, focusing on the NY-ESO-1 antigen. It aims to develop a preclinical platform to realistically evaluate patient-derived T cells and diverse NY-ESO-1 – targeting TCRs, ultimately enabling safer and more effective therapies.

Bacterial Infection Mechanisms
Many pathogenic bacteria use tiny nanomachines called Type III secretion systems (T3SS) to inject proteins directly into host cells. How bacteria deliver the right proteins quickly and precisely is still poorly understood. The project Spatial Targeting of Secretion Substrate mRNAs to Type III Secretion Systems in Gram-Negative Pathogens, led by Professor Marc Erhardt (Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin) and Professor Orna Amster-Choder (HUJI), investigates whether the mRNA of these proteins is specifically transported to T3SS to enable rapid secretion. Initial findings suggest that mRNA clusters near T3SS, allowing proteins to be produced on-site as needed. The project aims to identify the exact mRNA signals and bacterial factors that guide this targeted localization. Understanding this mechanism could provide new insights into bacterial infection strategies and inspire antimicrobial therapies that block infections without killing bacteria, thereby combating the emergence of antibiotic resistance.

Einstein Guest Researcher (Academic Freedom)

As part of the Academic Freedom program, the Executive Board has approved funding for two female researchers. The names and projects of the Einstein Guest Researchers are not being disclosed for reasons of personal privacy.

Einstein Independent Researcher
 

Activist Urban Planning
Elya Milner, researcher at the Center for Metropolitan Studies, Technische Universität Berlin, studies the work of activist planning organizations in cities where systemic inequalities and political violence are exercised through state power structures. The project focuses on Planact in Johannesburg, supporting African communities in the final years of apartheid, and Bimkom in East Jerusalem, assisting Palestinians living under Israeli occupation of the West Bank. It aims to explore the ambivalent and complex nature of activist planning in such political contexts. The project introduces the term “radical advocacy planning” to describe modes of activist planning that mediate and negotiate different, sometimes conflicting, positions and goals. For example, this includes balancing activist planners' positionality as professional, therefore “insiders” in the planning system, with their commitment to grassroots activism, or reconciling short-term tactical solutions to immediate local problems with long-term strategies for systemic political change. The project provides new insights for planning theory, practice, and education, highlighting the role of urban planners in social and political struggles.

Bacterial Immune Defense
Philipp Popp, group leader with Professor Marc Erhardt at the Institute of Biology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, will establish his own research line and investigate in his project BacDefiant how bacteria coordinate their defense repertoire against bacteriophages (phages). Using advanced microscopy and microfluidics, individual cells are monitored in real time to uncover when and how distinct defense systems act together. Combining microbiology, live-cell imaging, and synthetic biology, the project aims to decipher bacteria–phage interactions at the single-cell level. The findings aim to provide a detailed picture of bacterial immunity and improve our understanding of factors that could influence the success of phage-based treatment approaches.

Multiple Sclerosis
Sara Samadzadeh, currently a Clinician Scientist (Postdoc) with Professor Friedemann Paul at the Experimental and Clinical Research Center (ECRC), a joint institution of Charité and the Max Delbrück Center, investigates multiple sclerosis (MS) and related neuroinflammatory diseases. These chronic disorders of the central nervous system are characterized by highly individualized symptoms and disease courses that are difficult to predict. The project aims to advance diagnostics and therapy through precision medicine approaches. To this end, multidimensional patient data – ranging from clinical findings and imaging to fluid biomarkers, multi-omics and genetic profiles, as well as gut microbiome information and lifestyle factors – will be systematically collected and integrated. Using artificial intelligence and advanced analytical methods, the team seeks to identify patterns in these extensive datasets and develop models that detect early disease signals, predict disease trajectories, and support personalized treatment decisions. In doing so, the project aims to improve understanding of why MS and related conditions affect patients so differently, ultimately enabling earlier and more accurate diagnostics and more effective, individually tailored care for MS and other neuroinflammatory diseases.

Einstein Visiting Fellow 
 

Mental Health
Worldwide, millions of people are affected by complex psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or treatment-resistant depression. These conditions severely impair quality of life, social participation, and daily functioning, and often respond poorly to existing therapies. A new interdisciplinary center is now being established in Berlin to bring together research, clinical studies, and innovative approaches for people affected by these illnesses. As an Einstein Visiting Fellow, Brendon Stubbs, Senior Researcher at King’s College London, is launching a four-year project at the Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, together with Professor Kerem Böge and Einstein Professor Malek Bajbouj. The project combines physical exercise and mind–body therapies with promising substances such as creatine and oxytocin to specifically improve symptoms, physical fitness, and social engagement. Patients will actively help shape the intervention, which will subsequently be tested in a large clinical trial. The goal is to develop integrative, scalable treatment approaches for complex psychiatric disorders.

Autism Research
The funding for Jackie Schiller, Professor at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, has been extended. Since early 2022, she has been an Einstein Visiting Fellow at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, working with Professor Sarah Shoichet and Professor Dietmar Schmitz on autism spectrum disorders. The project initially focused on the effects of changes in the protein Caspr2 on autism. During this work, the team made a surprising discovery, which they will now explore in the new funding phase. Together, they aim to investigate how learning complex rules leaves an epigenetic “fingerprint” that is passed to subsequent generations via non-coding RNA, influencing neuronal excitability and complex learned abilities. The goal is to systematically analyze these physiological markers of learning and their relevance for autism-related learning and behavioral traits, providing new insights into the cellular and molecular foundations of learning and inheritance with potential implications for future therapies and interventions.

Einstein Center
 

The Einstein Center for Early Disease Interception (EC-EDI) aims to detect and combat diseases at the earliest stage, when only single diseased cells are present in the body and no symptoms have yet appeared. It builds on a two-year preparatory phase that supported the emerging field of cell-based preventive medicine. With six years of full funding and a total budget of €6 million, the interdisciplinary center will focus on the accelerated development, integration, and application of key new technologies. These include single-cell multi-omics and spatial biology methods, advanced preclinical patient models, and solution-oriented approaches using artificial intelligence to diagnose and treat diseases before noticeable symptoms arise.

Under the umbrella of the Center, represented by an interdisciplinary spokesperson team consisting of Professor Leif Erik Sander (Director of the Department of Infectious Diseases and Critical Care Medicine at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and group leader at the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH)), Professor Nikolaus Rajewsky (Primary contact, Director of the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology of the Max Delbrück Center and Professor at Charité), Janine Altmüller (Head of the Genomics Core Unit at the BIH), and Professor Jens Kurreck (Executive Director of the Institute of Biotechnology at Technische Universität Berlin), researchers and clinicians from twelve leading Berlin institutions work closely together. These include Charité and Berlin Institute of Health at Charité, Max Delbrück Center, Technische Universität Berlin, Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, as well as non-university research institutions such as the Museum für Naturkunde and Max Planck Institutes. This close cooperation is intended to quickly translate research findings into applications that provide medical, societal, and economic benefits. By linking regional, national, and international networks, EC-EDI will also establish Berlin as a unique international hub for cell-based preventive medicine.

Einstein Research Unit
 

On 1 January 2026, the new Einstein Research Unit Technologies in Global Health – From Innovation to Users (and Back) will officially commence. Working in partnership with seven African partner institutions in Ghana, Tanzania, and Uganda, researchers from the Berlin University Alliance, led by Einstein Professor Beate Kampmann (Charité) and Professor Uli Beisel (Freie Universität Berlin), will investigate how new technologies in the fields of vaccines, antimicrobial resistance, and mental health can be developed, tested, and implemented. A central focus is the perspective of users: which conditions promote the acceptance of new technologies, which hinder it, and how solutions can be optimally adapted to regional needs in close cooperation with local partners.

Einstein Research Units are intended to facilitate long-term research alliances in key research areas of the Berlin University Alliance. In this way, strategically important research fields are strengthened, and new inter- and transdisciplinary research priorities are developed. Proposals submitted to this program are reviewed by the Scientific Commission of the Einstein Foundation, and funding is provided through resources made available to the Einstein Foundation for the Berlin University Alliance.

The Einstein Foundation Berlin is an independent, not-for-profit, science-led organization established as a foundation under civil law in 2009. It promotes international cutting-edge science and research across disciplines and institutions in and for Berlin. To date, it has funded more than 250 researchers, including three Nobel laureates, over 70 projects, and ten Einstein Centers.

For science. For Berlin.

Press contact

Marina Meurer
Einstein Foundation
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