What does it take to understand health in a changing world?
How are human health, environmental change, and biodiversity connected? Discover the Research Center One Health Ruhr, where more than 200 researchers across 15 research groups join forces to tackle complex health challenges through the One Health approach.
Professor Kathrin Thedieck, Principal Investigator at the Research Center One Health Ruhr, has been awarded funding from the Federal Ministry for Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR) for the collaborative research project BALANCE-ET. As coordinator of the interdisciplinary consortium, she leads research aimed at improving the long-term care of breast cancer survivors by developing more precise strategies to predict cancer recurrence and tailor therapies to individual patient needs.
The project focuses on women receiving endocrine therapy for hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. While these treatments have significantly improved survival, many patients experience long-term side effects that affect their health and quality of life. BALANCE-ET combines molecular analyses, liquid biopsies, patient-reported outcomes, and systems oncology approaches to identify biomarkers that enable more personalized treatment decisions and earlier detection of therapy-related complications.
The consortium brings together expertise from oncology, molecular biology, epidemiology, artificial intelligence, and patient advocacy, reflecting the interdisciplinary spirit of the One Health approach. The project contributes to the broader goal of translating biomedical research into improved long-term health outcomes and personalized patient care.
For more information about the BALANCE-ET project and the funding initiative, please visit the University Alliance Ruhr news article and the National Decade Against Cancer feature on BALANCE-ET.
The Research Center One Health Ruhr congratulates Professor Dirk Schadendorf and Professor Alexander Probst on being named Highly Cited Researchers 2025 by Clarivate. The annual recognition honors researchers whose publications rank among the most influential worldwide based on citation impact over the past eleven years.
This distinction highlights the international visibility and scientific excellence of their research and reflects the strong contribution of the Research Center One Health Ruhr to cutting-edge interdisciplinary research within the University Alliance Ruhr. We warmly congratulate both researchers on this outstanding achievement.
Further information is available on the University of Duisburg-Essen and Clarivate websites.
The official opening of the Research Center One Health Ruhr marked an important milestone for interdisciplinary research within the University Alliance Ruhr. Held on 4 November 2024 at the UNESCO World Heritage Site Zollverein in Essen, the event celebrated the launch of the first Research Center established as part of the Research Alliance Ruhr and brought together representatives from science, politics, and society.
The opening ceremony was attended by the Minister-President of North Rhine-Westphalia, Hendrik Wüst, and the NRW Minister for Culture and Science, Ina Brandes, who highlighted the Center's pioneering role in strengthening internationally competitive research and innovation in North Rhine-Westphalia.
As part of the event, the Founding Directors, Professor Dirk Schadendorf, Professor Bernd Sures, and Professor Onur Güntürkün, introduced the scientific vision of the Center and its interdisciplinary One Health approach. Together with leading researchers and invited guests, they discussed how collaboration across aquatic ecology, molecular oncology, neuroscience, and molecular biology can advance our understanding of the complex interactions between environmental change and human health.
The Grand Opening not only celebrated the establishment of a new research center but also marked the beginning of a long-term scientific initiative. Today, the Research Center One Health Ruhr brings together more than 15 research groups and over 200 researchers from several scientific disciplines across the University Alliance Ruhr, working together to address global health challenges through interdisciplinary research.
