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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
How can insights from pediatric and adolescent medicine shape the medicine of tomorrow? Why is it crucial to actively involve children in questions about their own health? These key questions are at the heart of the Science Evening as part of the Science Year 2026 “Medicine of the Future.” The event "What Children Teach Us – The Future of Personalized Medicine” will take place on May 21, 2026, at 6 PM in Munich and is open to everyone interested in science. Join us either in person at the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities or via livestream.
Registration requested: bit.ly/Wissenschaftsabend
Pediatric and adolescent medicine stands for excellent basic research as well as the challenge of consistently aligning medical care with the specific needs of young patients. Children are not simply small adults—they experience illness, health, and medical treatment in their own unique way. Child-centered medicine must take this perspective seriously, listen to their voices, and respect their rights. But what does medicine look like when children are truly placed at its center? What role do their experiences and needs play in research? And what can adults learn from children—especially when it comes to the future of personalized medicine?
Prof. Dr. Dr. Christoph Klein, Professor of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and Medical Director of the Children’s Hospital at Dr. von Hauner Children’s Hospital of Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich, is the scientific host of the 11th public Science Evening of the Hector Fellow Academy. The evening’s program offers insights into current developments in pediatric and adolescent medicine and highlights the importance of children’s rights for research and clinical practice. Afterwards, participants will have the opportunity to engage with the speakers in discussion about the opportunities and challenges of the medicine of tomorrow. The event will be hosted by TV presenter Ralph Caspers, known among others from "Die Sendung mit der Maus" and "Quarks".
The renowned biomedical scientist Prof. Dr. Dr. Josef Penninger, Director of the Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research (HZI) in Braunschweig and Professor at the Medical University of Vienna, focuses in his lecture on the close biological connection between mother and child. During pregnancy and breastfeeding, the mother’s body adapts in remarkable ways to ensure both her own health and the optimal care of the child. The molecular mechanisms underlying these complex adaptation processes remain largely unexplored. This is precisely where biomedical research opens up new perspectives. A better understanding of these processes can not only improve healthcare for mothers and children, but also provide important impulses for the treatment of other diseases—for example, by enabling new therapeutic approaches for colorectal cancer.
Research into rare diseases in childhood also demonstrates how fundamentally insights from pediatric and adolescent medicine can advance medicine as a whole. The evening’s scientific organizer, Prof. Dr. Dr. Christoph Klein, highlights how these conditions can provide valuable insights for the treatment of more common diseases in adulthood. In this way, children with rare diseases move from being the “orphans of medicine” to becoming pioneers of precise, individualized medicine. Caring for children with severe rare diseases requires not only medical excellence, but also the courage to think beyond established approaches, creativity, and a particularly sharp diagnostic perspective. Physicians who dedicate themselves to these challenges are doing pioneering work for the medicine of the future.
For Claudia Kittel, Head of the Monitoring Body for the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in Germany, the participation of children is an indispensable part of good medical practice—just as important as excellent research and the best possible treatment. In her lecture, she emphasizes the central principle of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which also applies to medicine: children are holders of their own rights from the very beginning. Involving children and adolescents in decisions that affect their health is therefore not only desirable, but a clear obligation. Taking their perspectives, experiences, and opinions seriously and integrating them into medical processes can contribute to a better understanding of illness and health—and may hold the key to greater knowledge and better medicine.
The full program can be found here: https://hector-fellow-academy.de/en/upcoming-science-evenings/hfa-science-evenin...
The event will take place in the plenary hall (1st floor) of the Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Alfons-Goppel-Str. 11 (Residenz), 80539 Munich, and will also be streamed live online.
Participation is free of charge. Registration is requested: https://events.guestoo.de/hectorfellowacademy?lang=en
The event languages are German and English. Simultaneous English translation will be provided.
During the reception afterwards, guests will have the opportunity for further exchange and conversation. Media representatives are warmly invited to attend.
An event in cooperation with LMU Klinikum.
About the Hector Fellow Academy Science Evening
The annual Science Evenings of the Hector Fellow Academy aim to place current scientific questions within a broader socio-political context. Panel discussions foster dialogue between science and the public and help initiate forward-looking debates.
Next year, the Hector Fellow Academy Science Evening will take place on June 9, 2027, in Tübingen and will also be streamed live online. The topic will be “Artificial Intelligence in the Sciences.” The scientific host will be Prof. Dr. Bernhard Schölkopf. He is Scientific Director of the ELLIS Institute, Director at the Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems, affiliated Professor at ETH Zurich, and Honorary Professor at the University of Tübingen and Technical University of Berlin.
Prof. Dr. Dr. Christoph Klein, Kinderklinik und Kinderpoliklinik im Dr. von Haunerschen Kinderspital, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität
https://hector-fellow-academy.de/en/
Science Evening 2026
Copyright: © Hector Fellow Academy
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Science Evening 2026
Copyright: © Hector Fellow Academy
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