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.