TRAIN Partners
Together for the biomedical progress
TRAIN is an interdisciplinary association in which the infrastructure and scientists of the 11 partner institutions are closely interlinked with one another. The partner institutions bundle their know-how of mathematics, biology, chemistry, pharmacology, medicine, veterinary medicine and information technology. Not all elements of TRAIN represent all of the partner institutions but the community covers covers the entire field of biomedical development for new diagnostics, therapies and prevention measures in medicine - from basic research to application and is generating completely new options in biomedicine - up to qualification of the scientists.
TWINCORE, Centre for Experimental and Clinical Research is a joint venture between the Medizinische Hochschule Hannover and the Helmholtz-Zentrum für Infektionsforschung. At TWINCORE medical personnel and basic research scientists from various disciplines conduct infection research side by side. The focus is upon translational research - the interface between basic research and clinical development.
The Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) focuses its research on the multidisciplinary Helmholtz Programme "Infection Research", which is divided into three Topics: "Bacterial and Viral Pathogens", "Immune Response and Interventions" and "Anti-infectives". The program focuses on antibiotic resistance, chronic and emerging viral infections, immune interventions and infection epidemiology. The findings support the development of new strategies for early detection, prevention and therapy of infectious diseases. Besides the main campus in Braunschweig, HZI and its partners run centres at other locations in the fields of clinically-oriented research (TWINCORE), drug and pharmaceutical research (HIPS), structural biology (CSSB), bioinformatics and systems biology (BRICS), and RNA biology (HIRI). A Centre for Individualised Infection Medicine, CiiM, is currently implemented together with the MHH.
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibnitz Universität Hannover (LUH) provides TRAIN with the extensive expertise in chemical-biological oriented active agent research of its science faculty. In addition to synthesis chemistry, infection and anti-tumour research, this also includes the isolation and identification of new active agents, particularly those derived from plants. Moreover, the biotechnology and engineering institutes also supply the knowledge for the technical implementation of the findings from basic research.
Technische Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig (TU BS) is the oldest technical university in Germany. The institution combines the technical and mathematical knowledge of engineering with classical and molecular life sciences. In the research focus "Infections and active agents" the TU Braunschweig bundles basic research from systems biology to pharmaceutical process engineering in close cooperation with local and regional partners.
The Hannover Medical School (MHH) is a world-renowned institute in the fields of organ and stem cell transplantation. The extensive transplantation programme at the MHH – and the associated complications for the immune systems of patients – illustrates that clinical research into infectious diseases is a significant focus. From a scientific viewpoint the school is the most successful German medical teaching establishment (DFG ranking 2009) and clinically the best-performing university hospital in the field of maximum medical care.
The Fraunhofer Institute for Toxicology and Experimental Medicine ITEM is one of about 70 institutions of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Europe’s leading organization for applied research. Research for human health is the central topic at Fraunhofer ITEM – with a focus on the lungs and airways. The emphasis is on protecting health from potentially harmful substances, airborne substances in particular – be they gases, aerosols, particles, fibers, or nanomaterials – and also on investigating and developing novel diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in the fields of inflammatory and allergic respiratory conditions, both at the preclinical and clinical levels. Complementing these thematic focuses, Fraunhofer ITEM also engages in other subject areas, such as development and manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals, tumor therapy, and translational biomedical engineering.
The Leibniz Institute DSMZ-German Collection of Microorganisms and Cell Cultures is one of the largest biological resource centers worldwide. The unique diversity of resources, its extensive scientific services and the professional quality management makes the DSMZ an international supplier for science, diagnostic laboratories, national reference centers, as well as industrial partners of high renown. Research at the DSMZ focuses on microbial diversity, molecular mechanisms of biological interactions and tumor genesis.
At the Lower Saxony Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Implant Research and Development (NIFE) in Hannover, transdisciplinary research and development with a focus on implant research is bundled. The diverse skills in biomedical engineering of research groups from Hannover Medical School (MHH), the University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover (TiHo) and the Leibniz Universität Hannover (LUH) in cooperation with the Laser Zentrum Hannover (LZH) are efficiently combined to develope innovative and needs-based implants.