In January 2021, the Open Science Initiative Lübeck was founded . The Open Science movement aims to ensure the reproducibility and thus sustainability of science and to enable as many people as possible to access data and research results from all fields.
On Feb. 18 2021, the virtual kick-off event with Prof. Ulrich Dirnagl (Charité, Berlin & Director of QUEST at the Berlin Institute of Health, see also Short Bio below) took place. In his talk entitled “QUEST (Quality-Open Science-Translation-Ethics) in Berlin: institutionalized culture change in biomedicine” he addressed the background and challenges of the Open Science movement at biomedical research institutions.
Short Bio Ulrich Dirnagl:
„The research of Ulrich Dirnagl is focused on stroke, cerebral blood flow regulation, and brain imaging. In preclinical models as well as clinical trials he and his coworkers and collaborators explore mechanisms by which brain ischemia leads to cell death, and develops novel methods to intercept mechanisms of damage in acute brain damage, as well as to foster regeneration and repair of the lesions. He is particulary interested in how the brain protects itself (‘endogenous neuroprotection’), and how the brain interacts with other systems of the body after it has been injured. Closely linked to his interest in stroke pathophysiology is his interest in the coupling of regional blood flow to neuronal acitivity, the mechanism underlying functional brain imaging with MR and PET. Beyond imaging structure and function of the CNS he and his team are developing, validating and using techniques that allow the non-invasive imaging of brain biochemistry and molecular signaling. To this end they use optical, MR, and nuclear medicine approaches in mouse and man. To improve the predictiveness of preclinical translational research he is actively promoting the introduction of quality standards for experimental design and reporting, as well as international collaboration in large, phase III-type preclinical trials. Through meta-research he is trying to identify opportunities for improving research practice and to obtain evidence for the impact of targeted interventions. At the Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin Ulrich Dirnagl serves as Director of the Department of Experimental Neurology. Since 2017 he is also the founding director of the QUEST Center for Transforming Biomedical Research at the Berlin Institute of Health. QUEST (Quality – Ethics – open Science – Translation) aims at overcoming the roadblocks in translational medicine by increasing the value and impact of biomedical research through maximizing the quality, reproducibility, generalizability, and validity of research.“