BMFTR-funded inter- and transdisciplinary training across institutes

The BMFTR funded Summer School within the Fraunhofer CIMD Young Scientists Program took place in Berlin from September 22 – 24th, 2025.

The three-day Summer School centered on gender and sex differences and data gaps, with a particular focus on clinical research and immune-mediated diseases. It also extended beyond these areas, offering a broad spectrum of topics and perspectives. Participants included doctoral candidates, postdoctoral researchers, and early-career professionals from research institutions such as the Fraunhofer Society and the Cardio-Pulmonary Institute, as well as from universities and medical centers across Germany—including Leipzig, Rostock, Frankfurt am Main, Potsdam, Bonn, Hannover, Berlin, and Greifswald.

Throughout the event, attendees engaged with numerous high-quality presentations delivered by both internal and external experts. They also had the opportunity to pitch their own research projects, discuss current challenges, and exchange ideas. Dedicated networking sessions enabled future collaborations and supported the development and expansion of professional networks.

© Fraunhofer CIMD
© Fraunhofer CIMD
© © Fraunhofer CIMD

Day 1

At the start of the event, the Fraunhofer CIMD office welcomed participants to the Summer School, offering a brief introduction to the research cluster, its commitment to supporting early-career researchers, and an overview of the upcoming program.

This was followed by an interactive icebreaker session, where participants used a bingo-style questionnaire to engage with one another. The activity encouraged conversations about both personal interests and everyday work experiences, fostering a relaxed atmosphere to connect.

The first talk of the Fraunhofer CIMD Summer School was given by Prof. Dr. phil. Lisa Malich, Professor for the History of Knowledge in Psychology at University of Lübeck and member of the Collaborative Research Centre (CRC) 1665  sexdiversity. Her presentation, titled Is gender still binary? Or the many facets of gender, explored various conceptual frameworks and provided an overview of the central research topics and the collaborative structure of the Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 1665 sexdiversity.

After the lunch break—which also provided time for extended networking and informal exchange—the first half of the participants presented their projects in brief three-minute pitches. These short talks served to introduce their research to the group and laid the groundwork for more in-depth discussions during the poster sessions later on.

Following the project pitches, Prof. Dr. Gertraud Stadler—Professor for Gender-Sensitive Prevention Research and Director of the Institute of Gender in Medicine at Charité Berlin, and a leading expert in gender research—spoke on the topic Gender- and diversity-sensitive approaches in science and health. She emphasized the importance of addressing heterogeneity in medicine and highlighted challenges due to persistent gender and diversity data gaps. She presented practical tools like the Diversity Minimal Item Set (DiMIS) to improve inclusive research practices and showcased real-world applications from ongoing projects.

After a short coffee break, the other half of the participants had the opportunity to present their projects in brief three-minute poster pitches. This was followed by an interactive exchange forum and poster session, which provided space for discussing research topics, ideas, and challenges.

To encourage informal exchange and deepen connections, the first day of the Summer School ended with a shared barbecue evening, offering a casual setting for networking and conversation.

 

 

 

Day 2

The second day of the Summer School opened with a talk by Prof. Dr. Marcus Altfeld, Scientific Director and Head of the Department of Virus Immunology at the Leibniz Institute of Virology in Hamburg, as well as Head of the Institute of Immunology at the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. In his presentation on Sex Differences in Immune Response, he addressed gender-related disparities in immune and infectious diseases, highlighting the roles of sex chromosomes, hormones, and differences in HIV-1 infections, as well as immune changes during gender-affirming testosterone therapy.

The next two presentations, delivered by clinician-scientists, emphasized the clinical relevance of gender-sensitive research. PD Dr. Michaela Köhm, rheumatologist at the University Hospital Frankfurt and head of the research group inflammation medicine and the Innovation Area 4D Clinic at the Fraunhofer ITMP, focused on immune-mediated diseases in rheumatology, such as lupus erythematosus and psoriatic arthritis. She addressed diagnostic challenges, disease burden, and the influence of sex differences on treatment strategies and therapeutic outcomes. Prof. Dr. Irina Blumenstein, a gastroenterologist at the University Hospital Frankfurt am Main, centered her talk on the gender data gap in inflammatory bowel diseases. She highlighted disparities in diagnosis as well as differences in drug side effects, treatment approaches, and quality of life - including psychosocial health.

After the lunch break, Philipp Schrögel, visiting researcher at TU Chemnitz and science communication expert, gave an interactive talk on participatory research. He shared a practical guide developed within the BMBF-funded PartWiss project to support researchers in implementing participatory approaches. He also highlighted typical biases in science communication—such as those related to age, education, gender, or values—and underscored the importance of inclusive communication strategies.

The program continued with a talk by Dr. Clemens Striebing, Senior Researcher at the Center for Responsible Research and Innovation (CeRRI) at the Fraunhofer IAO and lecturer at Freie Universität Berlin, on Gender Bias in Engineering and Technical Sciences. After outlining key concepts and presenting several case studies on gender bias in R&D, he discussed the underrepresentation of women in the field and introduced current strategies for incorporating gender perspectives into engineering and technology.

The format then shifted to a lively interactive panel discussion. Inga Bergen, digital health and innovation expert, moderated a conversation with Dr. Felicitas Muth (Scientific Advisor at VDI/VDE-IT), Jutta Klauer (Associate Director Strategic Digital Partnership, MSD Idea Studio), and Katherine Ossenkopp (Country Manager, Future4Care). The panel explored topics such as entrepreneurship, innovation, and research — including, but not limited to, aspects related to the gender data gap.

After a short coffee break, the program continued with a session on career development for early-career researchers. Dr. Anna-Lena Beerlage, working in Medical Affairs at Pfizer, gave an inspiring talk on career prospects. She provided an overview of various professional fields and key roles within the pharmaceutical industry, as well as perspectives beyond the traditional pharma sector.

To conclude the day, the group made its way on foot to the Charité Mitte campus for a guided historical tour of the premises.

 

© Fraunhofer CIMD
© Fraunhofer CIMD

Day 3

Dr. Carina Vorisek, Research Associate at the Berlin Institute of Health, gave an insightful talk titled Gender Data Gap & AI – Fairness in AI Applications. She opened with the potential of AI in healthcare and the risks of bias. Then went on with a focus on the gender data gap in digital health, with brief strategies for better inclusion in clinical research and concluded by stressing the importance of FAIR data principles, interoperability and standardized frameworks for equitable data use.

Following this, Juliana Schneider, Research Associate at the Hasso Plattner Institute in Potsdam, spoke about the potential of N-of-1 trials as a study design for addressing gender-specific and intra-individual characteristics. She introduced N-of-1 trials as a valuable complement to RCTs, especially for studying individual responses and specific subgroups. She concluded with a brief overview of StudyU, the first open-source platform for digital N-of-1 trials.

After the lunch break, the final lecture of the Summer School took place. Prof. Dr. Anna Kollenberg, trainer and consultant in the fields of science communication, academic work, and analytical thinking, gave a presentation on interdisciplinary collaboration. She began by clarifying key concepts of collaboration such as inter-, trans-, cross-, and multi-disciplinarity and then explored strategies for effective communication across fields, highlighting storytelling as a tool to foster shared understanding.

To conclude, participants had the opportunity, through an interactive exchange, to reflect on how the knowledge gained during the Summer School could be applied to their own projects, to critically consider where there is potential for gender- and sex-specific research, where such perspectives should receive greater attention, and what already takes gender and sex differences into account.

 

The Summer School proved to be a successful continuation of the Fraunhofer CIMD’s efforts to support early-career researchers. It fostered interdisciplinary exchange and collaboration beyond individual projects and institutional boundaries. The Fraunhofer CIMD sincerely thanks the BMFTR for supporting this Summer School, all speakers for their inspiring contributions, and the participants for sharing insights into their diverse projects and for their active engagement throughout the event.

© Fraunhofer CIMD
Teilnehmende der Summer School 2025 am Fraunhofer Forum in Berlin.