Ulm Child Health (UCH)

Ulm Child Health (UCH) is an initiative by a group of departments at Ulm University involved in childhood development and disease, coordinated by its renowned Pediatric Department. It targets areas of highest relevance for both individual well-being and socio-economy (see figure). UCH focuses on selected key systems in pediatrics (metabolism and hormones, immune system, the immuno-metabolic basis of mental disorders) involved in diverse clinical manifestations in childhood but also later in life. In addition to outstanding clinical skills, UCH contributes internationally recognized expertise ranging from molecular via psychologic to digital and ethical aspects of these systems. These include somatic (epi)genetic mechanisms in development and disease, molecular immunology, early programming of morbidity and mortality later in life, coping with the sequelae of life-threatening and chronic diseases, prevention programs, and digital health approaches for health care and health control. These approaches profit from well-established interdisciplinary, trans-sectoral interactions including cooperation with pharmaceutical industry, from strong methodological platforms and particularly from unique sizable patient and population-based cohorts ranging from birth cohorts to registries for metabolic disorders. UCH successfully applied for participation in the German Center for Child and Adolescent Health (Deutsches Zentrum für Kinder- und Jugendgesundheit – DZKJ), a German Center for Health Research (DZG) planned by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). The set-up phase is scheduled to start in May 2024. In the DZKJ, UCH will simply be referred to as DZKJ Site Ulm.

Structure Steering Committee Researchers Projects Publications