Andre Franke Visits Shanghai and Beijing to Strengthen International Research Collaborations

From November 12 to November 20, 2024, Andre Franke visited Shanghai and Beijing. During his visit, he met with key collaborators and delivered two talks, presenting the Institute’s recent advances in high-throughput immunogenetics and microbiome research.

In Beijing, he presented at the prestigious Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS). His visit continued with a stop at Tongji University in Shanghai, where the IKMB has a collaborative relationship with the University’s bioinformaticians. In 2014, Andre Franke contributed to a workshop on transethnic approaches to immunogenetics of IBD in Shanghai, alongside experts such as Professor Siew Ng from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, who is now a member of the miTarget Scientific Advisory Board. Additionally, in 2021, Professor Zhanju Liu, Director of the IBD Research Center at Tongji University Medical School, held a PMI Cluster lecture on the “Spatial Interaction Between Gut Microbiota and Proteomics in the Pathogenesis of Crohn’s Disease.”

During this most recent visit, Andre Franke also met with the Working Group of Professor Ruixin Zhu at Tongji University, whose team is also working with a family cohort for IBD research—a valuable complement to the cohort utilized by researchers at IKMB in Kiel. Both institutions share a focus on understanding the genetic and environmental factors contributing to chronic inflammatory diseases, particularly IBD, making their collaboration even more impactful.