Health Research Network Forum provides fresh impetus for research and healthcare

How can new scientific findings be incorporated into healthcare more quickly? A key prerequisite for this is close collaboration between different disciplines and institutions. Through the Bayreuth Health Research Network Forum, the University of Bayreuth is therefore bringing together researchers from various departments and experts from clinical practice to identify shared research interests, establish new contacts and initiate collaborations. The event’s theme is ‘Fundamentals. Applications. Care.’ and took place on 27 October 2026 on the University campus.

The forum focuses on current health-related research activities at the University of Bayreuth. Scientific work from four thematic areas will be presented: molecular mechanisms of action, cells and tissues, people and healthcare, and digital health. The aim is to promote interdisciplinary exchange and provide new impetus for joint research projects. Health research faces major challenges. Issues such as prevention, an ageing society and the digitalisation of the healthcare system can only be successfully addressed by bringing together different scientific perspectives. The University of Bayreuth draws on its particular strength in interdisciplinarity and networking across faculty and disciplinary boundaries. Researchers from the life sciences work here on health-related issues alongside experts from computer science, engineering, economics, social sciences and law.

“Today, many significant advances in health research now arise not within individual disciplines alone, but at the intersections between them. Our aim is to bring together people with different scientific and clinical perspectives. If personal encounters give rise to new collaborations and joint research projects, then the Network Forum will have served its purpose,” says Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Stefan Leible, President of the University of Bayreuth.

The event therefore deliberately focuses not solely on academic presentations, but above all on face-to-face interaction. This is because new research approaches often emerge where researchers from different disciplines engage in dialogue with one another. Previous networking events have already shown that such encounters can lead to long-term collaborations and joint projects. The organisers therefore hope that the forum will spark new partnerships and further enhance Bayreuth’s profile as a centre for health sciences research.

Health research at the University of Bayreuth covers a broad spectrum, ranging from basic molecular research through public health and health services research to artificial intelligence and digital health applications. It thus makes important contributions to the development of innovative and practice-oriented solutions for the healthcare system of the future.