The next conference takes place from September 10-12, 2021
In view of the current corona situation, the GDNÄ board has decided to postpone the annual meeting until 2021. The new date is September 10-12, 2021, and the topic "Science in Picture" and the program are to be retained as far as possible. The exact program will be announced on this website in autumn 2020 and sent to the members in spring 2021. We look forward to welcoming you to an exciting conference in 2021.
Together with the meeting, the next general meeting and the elections planned there must also be postponed to that date.
The days should have 48 hours for Hans-Georg Kräusslich. One telephone conference after the other, patient visits, meetings in the laboratory – the Heidelberg professor of virology is always busy, but in the corona crisis he is in constant action. At the University Hospital in Heidelberg, GDNÄ member Kräusslich is not only the head of the Centre for Infection Medicine, but as Dean of the Medical Faculty he is also responsible for ensuring that the entire hospital functions properly. In addition, as Chairman of the Board of the German Centre for Infection Research (DZIF), he is driving forward studies on "SARS-CoV-2", the trigger of the worldwide pandemic.
New test methods for diagnosis, antiviral drugs and a vaccine against the new coronavirus are high on the DZIF's agenda. Together with the German Centre for Infectiology, a Europe-wide case registry is currently being established to collect clinical data from infected persons. For example, the registry will show under which circumstances patients become seriously ill after infection, when they get away with mild symptoms and which measures are best suited to treat them. "We are very confident that we can make an important contribution to the fight against the virus," says Hans-Georg Kräusslich, who appears calm and prudent even in these times of greatest tension.
He is currently also involved as a member of a group of experts who have presented a phased plan for the period after the corona shutdown. "As a society, we must now develop scenarios for a gradual return to normality," said the Heidelberg physician explaining his commitment.
Hans-Georg Kräusslich has been a member of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Physicians (GDNÄ) for almost forty years. In September 1982, as a medical student, he attended the GDNÄ meeting in Mannheim which was held under the motto "Progress reports from natural science and medicine". There the then 24-year-old listened to a series of lectures, in which he was particularly fascinated by the contribution of the German-born US virologist Peter K. Vogt. Vogt spoke in Mannheim about cancer-causing genes, so-called oncogenes. At that time, this field of research was still in its infancy and Vogt was one of the pioneers with his laboratory at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. "I was very impressed by the news I learned at the GDNÄ meeting," recalls Hans-Georg Kräusslich. He says that his penchant for virology was awakened at the time – and has continued to grow during his time as a postdoc in the USA.
Upon his return to Germany, the young physician established a group at the German Cancer Research Center in Heidelberg to research AIDS viruses. In the mid-1990s, he went to the Heinrich Pette Institute in Hamburg, which he led until 1999. In 2000, Kräusslich became head of the Department of Virology at the University Hospital in Heidelberg and has been the director of the Centre for Infectiology since 2003. In autumn 2019, his colleagues elected him Dean of the Medical Faculty in Heidelberg.
"The GDNÄ offers excellent opportunities, in particular for pupils and students, to come into contact with scientists and learn about current research," says Hans-Georg Kräusslich. The conference almost forty years ago gave him a decisive impulse – this is one of the reasons why he has remained true to "his" GDNÄ.
Expert group: A Strategy for the time after Corona shutdown
An interdisciplinary group of renowned scientists is now calling for a gradual easing of the existing social and economic restrictions while ensuring medical care for the entire population. In their position paper, the researchers around Ifo President Clemens Fuest and Martin Lohse, President of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Physicians, point out ways to achieve this goal.
Munich, April 2, 2020 - The strategy envisages gradually easing current restrictions in a differentiated manner and by continuously weighing up the risks. Priority will be given to restrictions that incur high economic costs or lead to severe social and health burdens. Regions with low infection rates and free capacities in the health system could, according to the proposal of the 14 experts from German universities and research institutes, lead the way in the gradual new start. In addition, sectors with a low risk of infection, such as highly automated factories, and areas with less vulnerable persons, such as schools and universities, should be started.
"The current restrictions make sense and are beginning to have an impact," says Martin Lohse, physician and president of the Society of German Natural Scientists and Physicians (GDNÄ). However, in addition to high economic and social costs, the measures would also have serious medical consequences, for example for patients with other serious diseases. "Because we have to expect that the pandemic will keep us busy for many months to come and ultimately only our immune system will be able to protect us, we need a flexible strategy that is graduated according to risks - a general shutdown is not a long-term solution," says Martin Lohse.
"Health and a stable economy are by no means mutually exclusive," says Clemens Fuest, economist and president of the Munich-based ifo Institute. Just as positive economic development is not possible with an uncontrolled spread of the virus, the efficiency of our health system cannot be maintained without a functioning economy," says Clemens Fuest. "When planning the steps in which the massive restrictions on private and public life are to be lifted, people must be at the centre of attention," says Christiane Woopen, Professor of Ethics and Theory of Medicine at the University of Cologne. Health, economic and social risks must be taken into account. A lot is currently being expected of everyone. Woopen: "Now the strong must be there for the weak.”
Scientists from the fields of internal medicine, infection research, pharmacology, epidemiology, economics, constitutional law, psychology and ethics are writing that it is now important to carry out large-scale tests in order to gain more reliable insights into the spread of the pathogen. The safeguarding of the production of protective clothing, protective masks, drugs and future vaccines is also one of the most urgent measures. The scientists also recommend creating new capacities to cope with the social and psychological consequences of the current measures.
Digitisation of the Sciences, from Structures to Processes
Dear members, friends and sponsors of the GDNÄ,
The digitisation of science enables the analysis and simulation of complex processes using computers based on structural models.
For the first time in its almost 200-year history, GDNÄ comes to Saarland, which is ideally suited as a state of information technology for this topic of our 130th meeting.
The Internet and the first wave of digitization had revolutionized access to scientific results. In the meantime, computer science has developed methods for all sciences to automatically evaluate digital mass data. However, the second wave of digitisation triggered by this also fundamentally changes the way scientists work and thus holds enormous potential for breakthroughs in science, medicine and technology.
Mass data are automatically classified by machine learning algorithms, experiments are carried out by robots, new connections are discovered by artificial intelligence and hypotheses are tested. However, the focus continues to be on scientists who, with their curiosity and passion, overcome existing boundaries within and between disciplines in order to gain completely new insights - increasingly often supported by digital assistants.
In addition to its university's internationally renowned Department of Computer Science, Saarland has the highest density of associated institutes in the field of computer science: In addition to the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence headed by me, the Helmholtz Center for Cyber Security, the Leibniz Center for Computer Science at Schloss Dagstuhl, the Max Planck Institute for Computer Science and the Max Planck Institute for Software Systems make the Saarland Informatics Campus with its joint Cluster of Excellence a prime location for digitization.
In addition to the Nobel Lecture and the Leopoldina Lecture, the programme offers 15 invited lectures by top researchers from medicine, biology, physics, chemistry and technology, supplemented by six laboratory tours within walking distance with practical insights over lunchtime.
The historic part of Saarbrücken exudes French charm and is worth a visit for its excellent cuisine and three-star restaurant. The GDNÄ participants will be spoiled culturally with a unique concert evening in the late baroque Ludwigskirche, a reception of the Lady Mayoress in the Knight's Hall of the town hall as well as a performance of the Saarländisches Staatsballet after the noble lecture in the Staatstheater.
This big event was only possible with generous donations, for which we would like to thank all our sponsors! The importance of our 130th meeting is underlined by the patronage of the Federal President and the opening by the Prime Minister of Saarland.
Take an active part in our dialogue on the future and discuss the opportunities and risks of digitising the sciences with renowned experts!
I look forward to your participation in the 130th GDNÄ meeting in Saarbrücken.
Exclusive New Wave Cup with GDNÄ logo for speakers and supporters of the 130th meeting in Saarbrücken from 14.9.-17.9.2018
As a small gift and thanks for their commitment, the speakers, volunteers and donors will receive a cup decorated with the GDNÄ logo.
The cup from the NewWave series with the characteristic wave shape made of the finest premium porcelain in pure white from the world brand Villeroy and Boch (est. 1748) serves as a souvenir from Saarland. The NewWave collection, which was awarded the "Innovation Prize of German Industry" and the "Trend Tableware of the Year", impresses with its asymmetrical shape and curved lines.
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