The B-FAST project is developing an integrated platform for testing and surveillance strategies for different settings, such as the general population, schools and daycare centers, risk areas and clinics. The aim is to promptly provide quality-tested recommendations for local, regional and national decision-makers from the public health sector, society and politics. B-FAST creates strategies that not only help in the acute crisis, but can also be transferred to future pandemics. To this end, 26 university hospitals are working together in the two overarching areas of "Testing Methods" and "Surveillance Management and Tools".

Head of the B-FAST project at LMU:
Prof. Dr. Oliver T. Keppler (Max von Pettenkofer Institute)

The CODEX project will create a nationwide standardized, data protection-compliant infrastructure for storing Covid-19 research data sets. To support the fight against the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and future pandemics, a secure, expandable and interoperable platform for the provision of research data on Covid-19 is being created that connects university hospitals with each other. CODEX is thus a central source of information for various research projects dealing with the development of better treatment approaches for Covid-19.

Head of the CODEX project at LMU University Hospital:
Dr. Fady Albashiti (Center for Medical Data Integration and Analysis)

The NAPKON project is building a harmonized, extensible and interoperable network to support the fight against the current Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences as well as future pandemics of any origin. This requires extensive documentation of clinical data on preventive, diagnostic and therapeutic measures, including detailed information on current risk factors and potential biomarkers for disease progression and outcomes. The studies that become possible in this way can, for example, provide information on the long-term consequences of Covid-19 disease, even if those affected move from the clinic to their GP during treatment, for example. NAPKON is closely linked to the development of the National Research Data Platform and cooperates with the COVIM project.

Head of the NAPKON project at LMU University Hospital:
Prof. Dr. Dr. Michael von Bergwelt (Department of Medicine and Polyclinic III)
Prof. Dr. Bernhard Zwißler (Department of Anaesthesiology)
Coordination team: Dr. Johannes Hellmuth, Dr. Max Münchhoff, Dr. Sandra Frank, Dr. Hans Stubbe, Dr. Christoph Mandel

Numerous university hospitals are cooperating in the COVIM project to generate new scientific findings on immunity to SARS-CoV-2. Components of the immune system that protect against infection with SARS-CoV-2 are to be identified in this project. It will also investigate how immunity can be transferred to other people and used for new therapeutic approaches. In addition, the project consortium aims to enable broad, national networking and use, thereby involving all university hospitals. COVIM works closely with NAPKON, B-FAST and CEO-sys. The structures established in this way strengthen the German healthcare system and can be used quickly and effectively in the fight against future epidemics.

Head of the COVIM project at LMU Klinikum:
Prof. Dr. Dr. Michael von Bergwelt (Medical Clinic and Polyclinic III)
Prof. Dr. Andreas Humpe (Department of Transfusion Medicine, Cell Therapeutics and Haemostaseology)

In the DEFEAT PANDEMIcs project, a Germany-wide autopsy network for the pandemic is being established from pathological, neuropathological and forensic institutes of German university hospitals and non-university partners. This network systematically structures data, materials and findings as completely, comprehensively and promptly as possible - then brings them together and ultimately makes them available to the network partners for evaluation. This networking enables a deeper understanding of Covid-19 and helps to develop more effective therapeutic approaches.

Head of the DEFEAT PANDEMIcs project at LMU:
Prof. Dr. Martina Rudelius (PATHO - Institute of Pathology)

Evidence-based medicine guarantees the best possible care as it is based on the latest scientific findings. In the CEO-sys project, a national evidence network on Covid-19 is being set up under the leadership of Cochrane Germany. The network, which is supported by 21 universities and four non-university partners, is creating a living evidence ecosystem by identifying, processing, evaluating, synthesizing and communicating scientific data and results. In this way, CEO-sys ensures that individual treatment decisions, institutional and public care strategies and political decisions can be made on the basis of currently available evidence.

Head of the CEO-sys project at LMU:
Prof. Dr. Eva Rehfuess (Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry and Epidemiology)

RACOON is the first nationwide radiology platform in Germany. It is the first project of this size to establish a nationwide infrastructure for the consistently structured collection of radiological data from Covid-19 cases. The findings are analyzed using artificial intelligence. This will enable a faster and more precise diagnosis of the disease and its progression and create a basis for decision-making for epidemiological studies, situation assessments and early warning mechanisms.

Head of the RACOON project at LMU Hospital:
Prof. Dr. Michael Ingrisch (Clinic and Polyclinic for Radiology)
Dr. Bastian Sabel (Clinic and Polyclinic for Radiology)
Prof. Dr. Jens Ricke (Clinic and Polyclinic for Radiology)

The AKTIN emergency admission register collects data on the start of the inpatient course and provides a comprehensive overview of healthcare by fully recording patients (outpatients and inpatients) in the emergency department. Analyses of routine data from the current pandemic thus help to gain insights into the use of central emergency departments. In addition, daily updated data from the emergency departments is continuously provided automatically for epidemiological evaluations and COVID-19-specific research questions are processed in this context. At the same time, the register can be used as an early warning system to identify recurring epidemic waves and any resulting supply bottlenecks at an early stage. In the context of health policy monitoring, the AKTIN emergency admission register opens up a new dimension of up-to-date data and an overview of Germany.

Head of the Actin-EZV project at LMU Hospital:
Prof. Dr. Matthias Klein (Neurological Clinic and Polyclinic)
PD Dr. Viktoria Bogner-Flatz (Clinic for AUW Surgery)
Dr. Stephan Prückner (Institute for Emergency Medicine and Medical Management)

The MethodCov project is establishing a network of experts who are analyzing the influence of social and contextual factors in the field of pandemic research. These factors include socio-demographics, occupation, environment, care, history and ethics. By pooling methodological expertise, effects on the risk of illness, the course of the disease and the way society deals with the pandemic can be analyzed. The findings from this network can create new prevention approaches and clinical therapy concepts for population groups that require special protection during the pandemic.

Head of the MethodCOV project at LMU:
Prof. Dr. Eva Grill (Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry and Epidemiology)

The Organo-Strat project establishes a network of university hospitals and high-security laboratories that jointly use organ models developed in the laboratory. This enables organ-specific research questions to be addressed synergistically through a coordinated approach. Tissue and autopsy samples are used, among other things, to conduct more meaningful studies on Covid-19 and other diseases. In addition, a larger number of organ models will be created. In the long term, this development of donor-specific, native tissue and organoid banks will make it possible to examine questions of personalized medicine and thus enable therapies that are individually tailored to patients.

Head of the Organo-Strat project at the LMU Clinic:
Dr. Mirjana Kessler (Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology)