Federal Government strengthens network to combat health risks
The Network of University Medicine (NUM) is to receive permanent federal funding in order to strengthen international health research.
Berlin (d.de) - Set up during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Network of University Medicine (NUM) is to receive permanent federal funding, establishing it as a key pillar of German health research. According to a statement, this was decided by the Joint Science Conference (GWK).
The permanent funding will give the NUM planning certainty for its clinical research. The goal is to develop improved diagnostic and therapeutic methods and better prepare for future health risks with international partners.
Germany’s Research Minister Dorothee Bär described the step as an important signal for research. According to the Federal Government, the NUM is above all making German clinical research more compatible with work done abroad. Standardised datasets, biological samples and study protocols enable findings to be compared and collated, for example for multinational studies and global meta analyses.
The NUM was founded in April 2020 during the Covid-19 pandemic with the aim of coordinating clinical research and the response to health risks. It pools the expertise of all 37 university medical institutions in Germany.
