Individualised Therapy with Genomic Medicine

The University Hospital Würzburg (UKW) is strengthening patient-oriented genomic medicine: the newly founded Institute for Clinical Genetics and Genomedicine at the UKW began work on 1 October. Around 80 employees will work at the institute, headed by Professor Anke K. Bergmann.

The new institute will take over the previous tasks of the Institute of Human Genetics at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg. It will also deal with genomedical issues and directly create new clinical genetics care services.

New Outpatient Clinic for Genetics

A new contact point for genetic counselling will be set up for patients. One focus here is on the genetic care of patients with oncological diseases and their relatives. Families with rare diseases will also find competent counselling here.

The University Hospital of Würzburg is thus significantly expanding the possibilities of personalised medicine in particular. "This is a significant contribution to the future-orientation of the Würzburg site," explains Tim J. von Oertzen, Chairman of the Board and Medical Director of the UKW.

The current location of the diagnostics laboratories on the Hubland campus will continue to be operated and the employees will be taken on by the UKW. In addition, a new outpatient genetics clinic and a genome diagnostics laboratory for patient care have been set up at the UKW medical campus in Grombühl.

Genetic Diagnostics, Prevention and Therapy

"With this new structure, we are creating an important additional pillar in patient care for the region and beyond. An initial focus will be on so-called rare diseases and oncological conditions. Due to the increasing clinical application of genetics, many other specialist disciplines will integrate genomic medicine even more strongly into clinical diagnostics, prevention and therapy in the future, which is why the integration into the hospital is a logical and future-oriented step," emphasises Institute Director Anke Bergmann.

The advantage for patients: Genetic diagnostics and a clinical interpretation of the respective genetic information can help the treating physicians to better understand disease patterns. "Genomic medicine will thus help to initiate individualised therapies and, if necessary, offer targeted preventive measures for patients and their relatives," says Bergmann. The great advantage of the interdisciplinary integration is that the sequencing data of the genetic material can be combined with other clinical and diagnostic data at the UKW.

Another focus of the institute will be oncogenetics in childhood. The national genetic diagnostics of childhood leukaemia, genetic analyses of childhood kidney tumours and "Fanconi" diagnostics (a rare genetic disease) form a unique focus area in Germany.

Participation in the Nationwide Model Project for Genome Sequencing

The Institute also manages the UKW's participation in the nationwide model project for genome sequencing, a centrepiece of the National Strategy for Genome Medicine. This involves analysing the genetic material of patients suspected of having a rare hereditary disease or cancer. This enables patients to receive highly innovative diagnostics. In addition, the sequencing will provide new insights that can be applied to other diseases with the aim of transferring genome sequencing to standard care.

"It is precisely this translation of basic research and interdisciplinary collaboration that is a particular strength of university medicine in Würzburg. The institute will also enable us to strengthen our research and teaching programmes in the long term," explains Matthias Frosch, Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Würzburg.

About the Person

Prof. Dr Anke Katharina Bergmann moved to the University Medical Centre Würzburg in September 2024. She was previously Deputy Director of the Institute of Human Genetics at Hannover Medical School, currently one of the largest human genetics institutes in Germany.

After studying medicine in Berlin and Paris and completing her doctorate at Charité, she initially worked at Harvard University in Boston. Even then, she was already working on the genetic basis of blood diseases. She then worked in Kiel at the University Medical Centre Schleswig-Holstein in paediatrics and human genetics, where she habilitated and qualified as a specialist.

She then moved to Hannover Medical School. In 2021, she took over as deputy head of the Institute of Human Genetics and, together with her team, expanded the national genetic reference diagnostics for childhood leukaemia. Bergmann's scientific work focuses on the (epi-)genetic basis of blood cancers and their clinical application. She also implements artificial intelligence algorithms in various diagnostic applications in order to make more precise diagnoses and better understand the genetic development mechanisms of genetic diseases.