Scientific Concept of the National Cohort (status ... - Nationale Kohorte

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C.1 Annex: Description of the study centers
Description of the institution responsible for establishing and operating the study
center
The university of duisburg-Essen (UDE), created in 2003 by the merger of the universities
of Duisburg and Essen, is the youngest university in North Rhine-Westphalia and the
eighth largest university in Germany. Both campuses are easy to reach and offer some
34,000 students a broad academic spectrum with an international orientation – ranging from
the humanities and social sciences to economics and the engineering and natural sciences
and medicine. Students from 130 countries are currently enrolled at the UDE.
The medical faculty of the university of duisburg-Essen emerged from the municipal
clinics in 1963. With 1,800 students, of which about ten per cent are foreign, about 300
students successfully complete their medical studies annually. Fifty per cent of these graduates
have gained a medical doctorate at the faculty. Research focuses on the main areas
of medical research, namely oncology, immunology, transplantation, cardiovascular system
and medical genetics and on the biological disciplines of genetics, bioinformatics, and developmental,
cellular, molecular and structural biology. Work also includes medical technology
solutions and new imaging procedures.
The Institute of medical Informatics, Biometry and Epidemiology (IMIBE) is part of the
Medical Faculty of the University of Duisburg-Essen and located on the campus of the University
Hospital Essen. The IMIBE (K.H. Jöckel and S. Moebus) has considerable experience
in performing large-scale cohort studies. A wide range of both population and patient
based epidemiologic and clinical studies has been successfully performed by the Institute.
One important example is the ongoing population based Heinz Nixdorf Recall cohort-study,
which started in the year 2000 and is conducted in close cooperation with the Clinic for Cardiology.
Experienced staff trained in data collection (interviews, examination, and medical
information), and recruitment procedures (documentaries) is available, including extended
field experience with established quality management procedures.
The Director of the IMIBE, hosting also the clinical tumor registry, is head of the Center for
Clinical Trials Essen (ZKSE), with both institutions being affiliated with the Comprehensive
Cancer Center (CCC) in Essen. The CCC offers treatment for a wide range of cancers using
a multidisciplinary approach to patient care. The assignment is to reduce cancer incidence,
morbidity, and mortality through treatment, training and research. The CCC emphasizes
interdisciplinary basic, clinical, and translational cancer research and a research program
comprising epidemiology, early detection and prevention.
The IMIBE has long-standing experience in evaluating research concepts and institutions,
moderating the field work and research process, and consultancy for diverse institutions.
The IMIBE will run the study center Essen, coordinated by S. Moebus and N. Dragano.
Description of the study center Essen
The study center of Essen is located in the center of the metropolitan Ruhr Area, along with
London and Paris one of the largest conurbations in Europe. The Ruhr area forms the largest
network of cities in Germany and is home to the largest proportion of first-, second- and thirdgeneration
migrants in Germany. Within the region, considerable differences exist regarding
environmental burden and social factors at both the individual level and the community level.
At the study center in Essen, 10,000 study participants from the cities of Muelheim, Essen
and Bochum, comprising 1.1 million inhabitants, will be recruited. The well-established
epidemiologic assessment center Robert-Koch-Erhebungszentrum will serve as the study
center for the National Cohort. The center is located across from the University Hospital with
good connections to public transport.
C.1