Globalization of Research - The TMF Addresses Challenges of the Coming Years

"As the umbrella organization, the TMF ensures the improvement of the organization and infrastructure of medical research in networked structures and has already achieved groundbreaking results. The TMF has now become the central point of contact for questions regarding networked medical research in Germany," emphasized Professor Dr. U.R. Fölsch, the Chairman of the TMF, during the TMF's parliamentary evening yesterday in Berlin.

A practice-oriented and high-quality infrastructure is an essential prerequisite for cutting-edge research. Sebastian C. Semler, Scientific Managing Director of the TMF, pointed out that promoting infrastructure is just as important as promoting research itself. However, building infrastructure as a necessary "foundation" for research is a long-term process. By consolidating measures, as is done in the TMF, resources can be saved.

For example, the TMF has addressed central topics in biomedical research, such as the development of generic data protection concepts for networked medical research projects or the clarification of legal and organizational framework conditions for biobanks. In addition, the use of specific IT tools and services is indispensable for conducting medical research at distributed locations. Therefore, the TMF has developed its own tools unavailable on the market. In the future, it will provide research networks with IT services such as a central patient list or a pseudonymization service.

A major challenge for the TMF is supporting research consortia in integrating research and healthcare. This includes questions such as how the emerging telematic infrastructures in healthcare can be reconciled with the needs of research and how healthcare data can be used for scientific analysis. The TMF supports this process with innovative projects, "as optimizing healthcare and integrating research and healthcare does not happen on its own but must be actively pursued," according to Semler.

Professor Dr. Otto Rienhoff, Deputy Chairman of the TMF, emphasized that in the context of globalization, which increasingly affects the research sector, significant efforts are necessary to prepare the infrastructure of research networks for global competition. The TMF plays an important role in this regard, as it can help existing alliances align with the requirements of a global research market.