Institutes

[http://www.dkfz.de/index.html German Cancer Research Center]

The German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) is the largest biomedical research institute in Germany and is a member of the Helmholtz Association of National Research Centers. More than 2,000 staff members, including 850 scientists, are investigating the mechanisms of cancer and are working to identify cancer risk factors. They provide the foundations for developing novel approaches in the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of cancer. In addition, the staff of the Cancer Information Service (KID) offers information about the widespread disease of cancer for patients, their families, and the general public.

[http://www.bioquant.uni-hd.de BioQuant]

In addition to the experimental acquisition of biological data and their analysis with bio-statistical and bio-computational methods, the modeling and simulation of these processes as well as their validation have become more important than ever before. For small systems such as single molecules and small complexes, molecular models have already provided significant insights leading not only to a better understanding of interactions, but also to the rational design of new drugs. For more complex systems (large molecular complexes, cells, organs and populations), such analysis is only preliminary. On this basis, the University of Heidelberg has established the research network for the "Quantitative Analysis of Molecular and Cellular Biological Systems (BIOQUANT)" which integrates research groups from different disciplines and help them to focus on these research tasks.