The curATalk lecture series was created in 2021 in order to connect the scientists that are involved in curATime as well as thematically closely related scientist and their research. This virtual meeting takes place at regular intervals and presents their latest research findings and topics that provide additional scientific value for the individual curATime projects. The curATalks are announced publicly and enjoy lively participation from a broad audience.
BarCamp
1st curATime BarCamp for early career researchers and technichians
Exchange is essential for a network. That’s why we were all the more pleased to welcome over 100 of our curATime members to Kaiserslautern.
Not only the partners who joined in the second phase, but also the “long-standing” curATime partners had the opportunity to present their work outside of curATime and introduce their team members in order to leverage even more synergies and strengthen the network.
During an engaging panel discussion on relationships, challenges, and shifts in perspective with Prof. Daniela Krause from Mainz University Medical Center, Prof. Andreas Dengel from DFKI, and Markus Garn from BioVation RLP, we were able to gain new insights into the concept of cluster collaboration.
In addition to the barbecue, another highlight was the opportunity to view not only two curATime but also four DFKI exhibits, such as an exoskeleton, in the DFKI showroom.
Link to the official press release: 260903_pressemitteilung-curatime-kick-off-final.pdf
curAMeet 2026
“Meet & Connect” – Impressions from our 3rd curAMeet cluster conference
On February 24, our annual cluster conference “curAMeet” took place on the campus of Mainz University Medical Center.
With the theme “Meet & Connect” our doors were opened wide, allowing us to exchange ideas not only with our current and future curATime members, but also with other parties interested in curATime.
Around 110 guests listened to welcoming remarks from our cluster spokesperson, the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Science and Health, the University Medical Center Mainz, and Project Management Jülich, took in important research findings from our keynote speakers (Fu Siong, Ng, Joost Sluijter, Aimo Kannt, and Kluas Ley), and learned about gamification and serious games during Philipp Busch's Impulse Talk.
In addition to these impressive presentations, the important progress made in all curATime projects was presented either during the poster session, in the presentation of our lighthouse projects, or in the research project presentations by some of the doctoral students.
During the breaks, participants took the opportunity to get to know each other beyond the existing network and exchanged ideas about existing and potential projects.
We would like to thank all participants and contributors for this successful day.
Our cluster member Michael Molitor summarizes:
"curAMeet was a great experience for me, especially the opportunity for interdisciplinary exchange between biomedical research and AI science and finding a "common" language here was outstanding. A unique platform for innovation, networking and scientific progress within the framework of curATime’. It’s amazing how sharing experiences can spark new ideas and future collaborations with current and new academic and industry partners."
TFMed 2026
A Showcase for Cross Clustering and Translation
As a proud co‑organiser, curATime looks back on TFmed 2026 as a strong example of how collaboration across innovation clusters can amplify scientific progress. The joint organisation with the Clusers4Future PROXIDRUGS and CNATM highlighted complementary expertise in RNA technologies, drug development, and translational research, creating a unique environment for interdisciplinary dialogue.
The conference programme reflected this diversity, covering a broad spectrum of therapeutic frontiers — from novel nucleic acid–based modalities and delivery technologies to immunology, oncology, and disease‑driven translational approaches. TFmed thus served not only as a conference, but as a living interface between discovery, development, and application.
TFmed 2026 featured particularly strong engagement from the curATime core partners, including TRON, University Medical Center Mainz, and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI). Their scientific contributions underlined the depth and breadth of expertise within the curATime consortium and its commitment to translation‑driven research.
The conference also marked an important milestone for curATime Phase 2, with active participation from new partners joining the cluster. Inspiring talks and poster presentations by Robert Zweigerdt (Hannover Medical School), as well as Boris Greber and Thomas Berger (Catalent), added valuable perspectives and further enriched the scientific discussions.
curATime extends its sincere thanks to Ivan Đikić, Johnny Kim, and Stefan Engelhardt for bringing people together and helping shape TFmed into a vibrant platform that goes beyond disciplinary and institutional boundaries.
We are proud to host the next TFmed, 2028 in Mainz!