Medical success

Originally intended as an epidemic center, the Charite was established in anticipation of an outbreak of the plague that was rampant in Europe in the 1700s. Later it became world-famous thanks to doctors like Robert Koch, Paul Ehrlich and Rudolf Virchow. So far, seven Nobel Prizes have been awarded to scientists working at the Charite.

On October 14, the Charite begins its 300-year celebrations with a World Health Summit on the topic of "Medicine of the Future." Professor Karl Max Einhaeupl, the Charite's rector, talks about how this "medicine of the future" will look and what role the Charite will play.

Deutsche Welle: The Charite consists of 107 clinics and institutes. It is a hospital, university and research center all in one. Which area is the Charite's main strength?

Karl Max Einhaeupl: The Charite aims to perform well in all three areas. However, we believe that our most outstanding feature is the research we do. And judging by that, we think we have reached the top.

The Charite has produced seven Nobel Prize winners. What are you doing to maintain this tradition?

I have to admit that it will not be possible to produce a Nobel Prize winner in the coming years. However, we shouldn't forget that in the last 17 years the Charite has once again managed to become Germany's "number one" in terms of classic science standards. If we continue doing what we're doing, we will see the Nobel Prize again someday.

If I were the fairy godmother and could grant the head of the Charite one wish, what would you choose?

Our greatest wish is to be successful in motivating scientists, especially young ones, to keep working for us and to be aware of what a prominent institution they serve. This will give them the strength to carry on with their work even in the difficult conditions we have.

Making every person healthy will always be no more than a dream. But making medicine affordable to everyone is a realistic goal, isn't it?

Yes, but it will be increasingly difficult because medical progress is happening so quickly and because it's costing more and more. It will certainly be an important obligation for research institutions to think about how to keep medicine affordable - not only in this country, but also in countries with weaker economies than ours.

You are not only the head of the Charite, but also a highly experienced neurologist. From your perspective, how will medicine look in the future?

I hope that medicine of the future - just like medicine of the past - will help people to maintain their health as they age. We all get older, but this should happen in a healthy way. I think we'll be successful in developing suitable medication for individuals. Personalized medicine is the goal, because humans differ so much genetically. And in the future we'll probably manage to create individualized medicine.

Does this mean that I submit my genetic profile and you develop medicine for me?

If you want to put it in simple terms, then this is definitely the explanation of the vision we have.

Why does it take so long to turn research into medicine - or for a new invention to reach the market?

This is definitely connected to the fact that basic research is usually done on animals, especially mice and rats. And these animals are of course a little different from humans. So when we are testing medication in this way, our patient is a very homogenous one.

All animals in such a study are similar or the same as each another. Humans, on the other hand, are very different. Even though we have the same number of genes - around 30,000 - we react to medication and germs and viruses in a very different way from the animals. And finding all of this out takes many years.

Which disease can we overcome in the foreseeable future?

I don't think it's possible to overcome any disease completely. But I'm convinced that it's more important to impede the progress of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. Today, we understand a lot about the mechanisms behind Alzheimer's, but we haven't yet found medicine and treatment to stop this illness.

Interview: Daniela Levy (ew)

Editor: Kate Bowen