With life expectancy on the rise, triggering changes in our habits, the environment and therefore diseases, the need for research remains high. Chronic illnesses of the cardiovascular system, cancer and diabetes are becoming increasingly commonplace. Researchers are faced with numerous questions: what cures can we find for previously incurable diseases? Which methods of prevention have the most sustained effects, and how can people be motivated to use them? How do environment, individual diet and exercise affect widespread diseases?
© DLR-PT/BMBF
Health research has been a staple of our organisation for a long time, so it is fitting that we possess extensive expertise in this field. Among other things, we designed the ‘Prevention and Nutritional Research’ action plan and supported Germany’s largest medical health study, the ‘National Cohort’.
At the DLR Project Management Agency, we follow research projects from their inception, design funding programmes, manage the projects created within their framework, and foster international networks of researchers. We convey important new insights for the government, the scientific community, and society at large. To do this, we use comprehensive cross-media communication channels: publications, newsletters, websites, and public events provide meaningful information on advances in research and new opportunities for diagnosis and treatment. In 2015, Germany, took over the presidency of the annual summit of the seven major economic nations (G7). We set up an office to prepare for the summit and subsequent conferences of G7 economic ministers. We provided professional communication to support the work of the ‘G7-Health’ office: from contributions to the website of the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) to the Ministerial science conference with brochures on diseases linked to poverty and antimicrobial resistance. We also made arrangements for high-profile appointments attended by the Minister. We cooperated closely and successfully with the BMBF ‘Strategic Communication’ executive groups and Press section.