DeutschDRFZ at a glance
Mission
The DRFZ, an institute of the Leibniz Association, is dedicated to advancing the understanding and treatment of chronic inflammatory disorders, with a special focus on rheumatic diseases. By investigating the biomedical triggers, drivers of disease progression, and the effects of current therapies on patients, the DRFZ strives to develop personalised, potentially curative treatments. These insights into disease mechanisms also support efforts to prevent disease onset, improve clinical decision-making, and address unmet medical needs, ultimately enhancing care for patients with rheumatic conditions.
Research at the DRFZ is divided into three thematic “programme areas“
- Pathophysiology of Rheumatic Inflammation
Research in this programme area concentrates on the identification and understanding of the cellular and molecular causes and drivers of chronic rheumatic inflammation and exploring novel opportunities to disrupt the inflammatory processes via the development of innovative treatment regimes.
- Systems Rheumatology
Taking a systemic approach to examine the role of each individual cell in the context of rheumatic and osteoarthritic inflammation, research in this programme area aims to uncover not only the underlying causes of disease mechanisms but also diagnosis and categorization of diseases using AI-supported analytics.
- Epidemiology and Health Services Research
This programme area has the overarching task of investigating clinically important questions in rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases using epidemiological methods in order to improve the care and quality of life of people with rheumatic diseases. The research groups in this area focus on clinical epidemiology and health care research.
DRFZ – Charité
The close connection to the Charité is an essential element of the DRFZ.
The Charité and the DRFZ not only share joint research infrastructures, they are also connected by seven professorships and twelve joint liaison research Groups.
Liaison-research groups
“Liaison research groups” are an instrument developed by the DRFZ that gives clinicians and basic researchers from partner institutions such as the Charité, the opportunity to conduct research at the DRFZ. The liaison research groups are co-financed to varying degrees by the partner institution and the DRFZ. This provides these groups with research space and access to the infrastructure and technology platforms of the DRFZ.
Research funding
Research at the DRFZ is funded by the Berlin Senate Administration for Science and Research, the Leibniz Association, the German Research Foundation (DFG), the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the European Research Council and the European Commission, industry consortia and other third-party donors.
Private foundations such as the Willy Robert Pitzer Foundation, the Rheumastiftung, the Dr. Rolf M. Schwiete Foundation and bequests are an increasingly important pillar of research funding at the DRFZ. Each of these foundations supports a particularly outstanding research group in an outstanding manner, thereby shaping the profile of the DRFZ.
30 years of the German Rheumatism Research Centre Berlin - a look back
The DRFZ was founded 30 years ago by the State of Berlin, to whom it is deeply indebted for many years of generous support and constructive assistance. As the only non-university research institution in Germany for rheumatic and musculoskeletal diseases, it has been part of the Leibniz Association since 2009 and has also received federal funding since then.