“The promotion of science, mathematics and computer science is a matter near to my heart. And I also want to help make them more valued. “
Klaus Tschira (1940 -2015) Physicist, SAP co-founder and founder
Despite remarkable progress in the diagnosis and treatment of acute and chronic cardiovascular diseases, they still represent the leading cause of death and hospitalization. This worrying Situation is due to the ageing population and to the fact that the heart is affected by several co-morbidities and side-effects of the treatment of other diseases such as cancer. In the past, cardiovascular research was dominated by hypothesis driven strategies, while only recently novel computational methods allow the analysis of large datasets obtained from single individuals up to the population-level, simulation of complex disease processes and prediction of molecular and clinical phenotypes and their outcome. Despite this progress, translation of computational technologies into Healthcare requires a rigorous translational agenda and close cooperation of different disciplines. Informatics for Life will embark on the high potential of a joint Approach incorporating experts from computational modeling and clinical research. An important element for true translation into clinical application will be the patient-centric environment, which is a completely novel approach. Heidelberg has a unique, internationally highly competitive asset of all required expertises and hence represents the ideal location for this pioneering initiative.
