Second Einstein Professorship for Charité Neurotechnologist Surjo Soekadar
As a trailblazer in the clinical application of brain-computer interfaces, Soekadar develops technologies that allow direct communication between patients’ nervous systems and external devices, for example to restore motor and cognitive functions. His commitment to strategic collaborations – including between Charité and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) in the field of quantum sensing – has been crucial for building an excellent research infrastructure in Berlin. Moreover, he has played a key role in shaping the capital’s research agenda in the field of brain health.
At the heart of the new professorship is an integrative approach: combining neurotechnology with psychotechnology – meaning the integration of neurobiological, digital, and psychosocial interventions – to enable a new generation of holistic and highly effective therapies. The clinical translation of neurotechnological developments is also to be accelerated through the establishment of an NeuroTech Open Innovation Hub, so that research results can reach patients more quickly.
“With this professorship we are creating a unique platform for the development and clinical testing of neurotechnological innovations,” emphasizes Surjo Soekadar. “Our goal is to make new therapies rapidly available and to establish Berlin as the world’s leading hub for neurotechnology and its transfer.”
The embedding within the NeuroTech Open Innovation Hub creates an attractive environment for start-ups, industry partners, and international talent – a strong driver for Berlin as an innovation city. With the support of the Einstein Foundation, the foundation is also being laid for piloting a new cooperation format: within a co-creation process, so-called clinician innovators will work together with industry to develop new therapeutic approaches and care models and validate them in collaboration with users. “This format can bring forward-looking ideas and prototypes from neurotechnology and artificial intelligence – whether from Germany or abroad – to market maturity, validate them clinically, and integrate them rapidly into healthcare. This closes precisely the gap that still exists in Germany: testing and commercializing important inventions locally, without relocating to the USA or Asia. Of course, additional framework conditions must be established – such as support for navigating regulatory processes and easier access to venture capital – but with the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité and UNITE, Berlin already offers the best conditions for this,” says Soekadar.
Prof. Joachim Spranger, Dean of Charité, welcomes the new professorship: “I am very pleased that the Einstein Foundation can once again support Professor Soekadar. He is an excellent reinforcement for our neuroscience focus, and I am convinced that he will provide important impulses for future technological developments, particularly at the interface between the brain and the computer. Hopefully, our patients will also be able to benefit directly from this.”
Prof. Martin Rennert, Chair of the Einstein Foundation, adds: “Strong neuroscience in Berlin as a health city is not a given, but thrives on the individuals who shape and advance it. Professor Soekadar is undoubtedly one of these pillars. All the more we are delighted that, with this renewed funding – following the initial support at the time of his appointment six years ago – we can contribute to ensuring that this scientifically outstanding and personally inspiring researcher remains at the Berlin research location.”
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