Further funding of the Leibniz Science Campus Digital Public Health

Yesterday in Berlin, the Leibniz Association decided to support the Leibniz Science Campus Digital Public Health for another four years with 1.2 million euros. This will enable the Campus, founded in 2019, to continue and expand its successful interdisciplinary research on the essential topic of the digitization of health.

"I am very pleased about the further funding," says Prof. Dr. Hajo Zeeb, spokesperson of the Leibniz ScienceCampus Digital Public Health and head of the Department of Prevention and Evaluation at the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS. "On the one hand, it confirms our successful work, and on the other hand, I am pleased that we can continue to investigate this important topic for the future. There are enough topics: from the influence of social networks on our health to topics of artificial intelligence."

The focus of the Campus is on the digitalization of health: whether it's exercise apps, nutrition and fitness programs via smartphone or telemedicine - state-of-the-art digital technologies make it possible to reach numerous people quickly and inexpensively and let them participate in health-promoting measures. Legal and ethical issues often fall by the wayside. How, for example, can the "digital divide" between individual population groups be overcome? How can privacy and data security be preserved? And how can science process the vast amounts of data for the benefit of all and make it usable?

"The Leibniz ScienceCampus Digital Public Health is tackling these problems," Zeeb explains further. He adds: "To this end, we are bringing together scientists from the health sciences, computer science, statistics, law, communication sciences, ethnology and philosophy. The pandemic in particular has shown that cooperation between different disciplines provides the best answers to many health issues. Together, we want to answer the questions of tomorrow."

The Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology - BIPS, the Fraunhofer Institute for Digital Medicine MEVIS and the University of Bremen have been cooperating in the research network since the beginning of the funding. The University of Oldenburg and the OFFIS - Institute for Computer Science were won as new partners for the second funding phase.

The Leibniz Science Campus Digital Public Health in Bremen is one of a total of 19 science campuses with a thematic focus that serve to strategically network Leibniz institutes with universities and other regional partners. The aim is to create networks to further develop the respective research area and strengthen the scientific environment. Leibniz Science Campuses conduct strategic research, promote interdisciplinarity in topics, projects and methods, make the respective location visible and strengthen its research profile.

BIPS - Health research in the service of people

The population is at the center of our research. As an epidemiological research institute, we see our task in identifying causes of health disorders and developing new concepts for disease prevention. Our research provides the basis for social decisions. It informs the population about health risks and contributes to a healthy living environment.

BIPS is a member of the Leibniz Association, which comprises 97 independent research institutes. The orientation of Leibniz institutes ranges from natural, engineering and environmental sciences to economics, spatial and social sciences and the humanities. Leibniz Institutes are dedicated to socially, economically and ecologically relevant issues. Due to their national importance, the federal and state governments jointly fund the institutes of the Leibniz Association. The Leibniz institutes employ around 20,000 people, including 10,000 scientists. The total budget of the institutes is more than 1.9 billion euros.