Max-Delbrück-Centrum für Molekulare Medizin Berlin-Buch

Located in the northeast corner of Berlin, the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) Berlin-Buch combines basic research in molecular biology and genetics with clinical research so that the latest medical discoveries can be brought to the bedside as quickly as possible. For this reason the scientists of the MDC collaborate closely with clinicians of two clinics in its vicinity, which are part of the Charité, Universitätsmedizin Berlin/Helios Klinikum Berlin - namely, with the Robert Rössle Cancer Clinic (RRK) and the Franz Volhard Clinic for Cardiovascular Diseases (FVK) in Berlin-Buch. The links between the MDC and these Berlin-Buch clinics are many and varied: Clinicians head research groups at the MDC, MDC researchers and clinicians pursue mutual research projects and the MDC supports research in the clinics in many ways including offering young clinicians a special training program in basic research.

Molecular Medicine
Molecular medicine focuses on the role of genes and gene products (proteins) to better understand, treat or prevent severe diseases. The most important biological molecule is the hereditary material, DNA. According to the latest research results, the DNA in the nucleus of a human cell contains approximately 30,000 - 40,000 genes. They encode information critical for the cell's survival and function.

Based on this research, MDC scientists and clinicians jointly aim at developing new methods for the diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of cancer, cardiovascular, and neurological diseases. They work with modern molecular biological methods within all research programs of the MDC. These areas of research are:

• Cardiovascular and metabolic diseases
   
• Cancer Research
   
• Function and Dysfunction of the nervous system

The MDC also collaborates with the university clinic Benjamin Franklin in Berlin Steglitz, Max Planck Institutes and other scientific institutions in Germany and abroad. It also closely works together with the " Forschungsinstitut für Molekulare Pharmakologie ( FMP)" on the Campus Berlin-Buch.