German Rheumatism Research Center
The German Rheumatism Research Center Berlin (DRFZ), an institute of the Leibniz Association, was founded in 1988 as a foundation under civil law by the State of Berlin and the Immanuel-Krankenhaus GmbH . Following its statutory mandate, it is dedicated to interdisciplinary research into the causes and epidemiology of rheumatic diseases with the aim of making contributions to the development of effective therapeutic approaches and improving patient care. Using epidemiological methods, risk factors and predictors of the course of inflammatory rheumatic diseases are identified, the safety and effectiveness of new therapies under everyday conditions are assessed and supply deficits are revealed. Experimental biomedical research identifies the cells that trigger and power rheumatic diseases and the underlying molecular mechanisms. In addition, the DRFZ conducts training and further education in these areas. In the context of research, state-of-the-art technologies are used and further developed at the DRFZ, including flow cytometry and intravital microscopy .
Today the DRFZ, an institute of the Leibniz Association since 2009 and funded by joint federal and state funding, is one of the leading international institutes in the field of immunology, experimental rheumatology and rheumatism epidemiology.
A cornerstone of the DRFZ is the close cooperation with the Charité University Medicine Berlin.
The DRFZ has been headed by Andreas Radbruch since 1996 .