Rahel Hirsch Center for Translational Medicine opened

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  View of the Rahel Hirsch Center for Translational Medicine, which opened today.

• View of the foyer of the Rahel Hirsch Center for Translational Medicine, which opened today.

• Franziska Giffey (SPD), Governing Mayor of Berlin, speaks at the opening.

In the future, research and treatment will take place under one roof at the newly opened Rahel Hirsch Center for Translational Medicine in Berlin.

The joint work of the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) and Charité in this building symbolizes what is wanted in Berlin, said Berlin's Governing Mayor Franziska Giffey (SPD) at the ceremonial opening on Thursday. "We want excellent medical care, but we also want excellent research, good framework conditions for research that connects."

Research, outpatient treatment and clinical studies

The former building for surgery, intensive care and emergency room of the Charité had been extensively renovated in recent years. In the future, it will be used jointly by BIH and Charité Universitätsmedizin for research, outpatient care and clinical studies. Accordingly, the research groups of the Digital Health Center and the Data Sciences of BIH will be housed in the building, while the day clinic of the Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Clinic for Dermatology, among others, will move in from the Charité side.

Arout 14,900 square meters

In the immediate vicinity of the Charité's high-rise hospital building, the center now has six floors and around 14,900 square meters of space. According to the press release, the conversion cost around 100 million euros. 60 percent of this was covered by the federal government and 40 percent by the state of Berlin.

Center named after doctor Rahel Hirsch

The building is named after the Jewish doctor Rahel Hirsch, who was born in Frankfurt in 1870. At the time, Hirsch had to go to Zurich to study, as women in Germany were not allowed to study medicine. Later, the Nazis revoked her license to practice medicine and she fled to London. Giffey said that the name-giver was also a reminder that research and medicine could only function if free science and diversity were part of our identity. Hirsch's name should also be a reminder of her values, she said. "In that sense, this place is not only a place of excellent medicine and research, but also a place of democracy."

"I speak for the whole family. We are very proud"

Hirsch's grandniece, Eva Alberman, traveled from London for Thursday's opening. "I speak for the whole family. We are very proud," Alberman said. "This building is really fabulous. She couldn't have dreamed of this."