Saarland University
At the Faculty of Medicine (University Hospital), located in Homburg/Saarland more than 1800 people are studying medicine. There are 36 hospitals or institutions treating more than 54.000 inpatients and nearly 190.000 outpatients each year. The clinical participants from Saarland University are the departments of Paediatric Oncology and Haematology, the Institute of Human Genetics and the Institute of Pathology. The research focus of the Department of Paediatric Oncology and Haematology is nephroblastoma and brain tumours (clinical trials and basic research in cooperation with different institutes) and brain tumour. The Institute of Human Genetics provides genetic counseling for patients from Saarland and the surrounding areas. The research focus has its specific emphasis on nucleic acid based signatures of cancer patients. Five of the research projects are supported by the DFG (German Research Foundation).
The clinical expertise is most relevant for the project. The main role of Saarland University is being the link between clinicians, molecular biologists and IT-people to bridge the gap between research and clinical daily practice. The integration of patients in the project is a major task regarding safety and patient empowerment.