Alliance ScienceSplash 2024: Innovation and collaboration on the Neckar
All aboard!
The second Alliance ScienceSplash, held on July 12, was another great success for networking and showcasing innovative research. Aboard the MS Königin Silvia, researchers from all Health + Life Science Alliance institutions enjoyed an exciting day full of science and collaboration, with a particular focus on technology transfer and innovation this year – all while enjoying the picturesque Neckar valley views.
The event kicked off with an enthusiastic welcome by Andrea Leibfried and Michael Boutros, two of the three Health + Life Science Alliance directors, setting the tone for a day dedicated to fostering interinstitutional collaboration and the exchange of ideas. Participants were inspired by two distinguished keynote speakers who shared their insights and expertise, further fueled by an innovation talk by Estelle Bonedeau, who provided inspiring insights into balancing PhD work with being the CTO of the start-up QuantiLight.
Clive Wood , Corporate Senior Vice President and Head of Global Discovery Research at Boehringer Ingelheim , delivered a compelling talk on discovering innovative medicines for patients, who are after all at the center of all research. He emphasized the importance of understanding disease mechanisms and the necessity of global collaboration to accelerate biomedical progress.
Blanche Schwappach, Dean of the Medical Faculty and Member of the Executive Board at Universitätsklinikum Hamburg Eppendorf explored new ways of working with scientific literature. She discussed the transformative impact of Large Language Models (LLMs) on research and shared her conclusions on their benefits and risks.
One of the enjoyable features of this year's ScienceSplash was the elevator pitch session, where researchers presented their work in under just three minutes. This fast-paced format allowed attendees to quickly identify common interests and explore the diverse research happening across the Alliance.
Adding to the excitement was the Ask-Me-Anything Technology Transfer session, providing valuable advice and insights from experts, helping attendees advance their scientific innovations. Many thanks to Dr. Raoul Haschke from hei_INNOVATION for his Tech Transfer Talk.
Thank you to everyone who made this ScienceSplash a memorable and stimulating experience – the spirit of collaboration was palpable throughout the day. We look forward to more innovative events and continued success in your scientific endeavors!