 April 2021 The Pros and Cons of Personalized Medicine Elana Simon was diagnosed with a rare form of liver cancer when she was twelve. Defying prognoses, she beat the disease, and at fifteen she decided to help others overcome it as well. With the backing of scientists and researchers in New York City, she sequenced the whole RNA genome of her disease and found a single deletion in the DNA of one copy of chromosome 19 in every affected individual. She published a paper in Science, set up two clinical trials and created a blood test for the cancer. This is precision medicine at its finest. Rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach to ailments and disease, precision medicine, also called “personalized medicine,” investigates individual patients, looking at genetics, environment and lifestyle to find the best individualized treatment option. In our latest slate of news from Germany, we investigate the pros and cons of precision medicine, from immunotherapies curing cancer to concerns about privacy and equity. We look at what BioNTech does when not busy creating COVID-19 vaccines and learn about an A.I.-powered medical app. We get an overview of the cancer research landscape in Germany and talk to a cancer genomics researcher about what her work can teach us about dealing with uncertainty. Follow along below. SPOTLIGHT Precision Medicine Demystified Learn about new developments in cancer research, undercover onco-cell warriors and what precision medicine can teach us about life in an interview with Dr. Marie-Laure Yaspo, a Research Group Leader at the Max Planck Insitute for Molecular Genetics. More WHAT‘S NEW How a Once-Dismissed Idea Is Ending the PandemicBioNTech rose to global fame in 2020 for the successful COVID-19 vaccine they developed with Pfizer. But the vaccine is only the beginning for the German biotech. Their immunotherapy science may soon revolutionize medicine. More The Doctor App Will See You NowForget WebMD! Using A.I. to provide personalized medical advice, Ada Health is bringing the doctor one click away. More Cancer Research in GermanyGermany is one of the leading actors in the pursuit of researching, fighting and ultimately annihilating cancer. Check out Research in Germany’s content series on the cancer research landscape in Germany. More THE LATEST FROM OUR SUPPORTERS Open Proposals for New Research CentersA new ideas competition is aimed at outstanding scientists both in Germany and abroad who have an innovative idea for two new large-scale research centers in the German state of Sachsen. More Fellowship for Science CommunicatorsFreie Universität’s MIP.lab seeks fellows to work in their lab for science communication on mathematics, computer science and physics. More News from HamburgThe Universität Hamburg is funding five research projects, including one on language and digitization building off their close partnership with the University of Indiana. Also from Hamburg, a research expedition into the southern Atlantic and new funding for promising technologies. CONNECT WITH US! This newsletter is provided by:German Center for Research and Innovation (DWIH) New York 871 United Nations Plaza New York, NY 10017, USA legally represented by: Dr. Kai Sicks, Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst e.V., Kennedyallee 50, 53175 Bonn Tel.: +1 212 339 8680 Email: info@dwih-newyork.org Online: www.dwih-newyork.org Organization Headquarters: Bonn (Germany), registered at the local court Bonn, register court VR 2107 Editor: DWIH New York Disclaimer of liability: We assume no liability for the content of third parties. For the content of linked pages, the operators of these pages are exclusively responsible. Copyright © by DAAD e.V. The content of this newsletter is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. The use of the text – even in extracts – and the pictures is not permitted without the prior written consent of the DAAD. |
