The Mannheim Institute for Public Health, Social- and Preventive Medicine (MIPH)

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The Mannheim Institute for Public Health, Social- and Preventive Medicine (MIPH) constitutes the core of the future Center for Medicine and Society (Zentrum für Medizin und Gesellschaft) of the Mannheim Medical Faculty at the Heidelberg University. The MIPH is currently being founded and is expected to become fully operational by the end of 2006.

Research and teaching activities of the MIPH will focuss on three themes:
a) the psychobiology of early aging;
b) health economics; and
c) he systems-biology of prevention.

The mission of the MIPH is to contribute to the development of an evidence based early prevention including policy recommendations. Prevention in this context is not limited to personal medical or behavioural interventions. Cost-effective prevention considers measures on a national level (changes in policies), contextual factors including psychosocial risks (e.g. work-related stress, leadership styles), as well as complementary preventive approaches (e.g. nutrition supplements, alternative medicine). The long-term goal of prevention is a cost-effective delay of the biological wear and tear hastening early ageing, herby ameliorating the economic consequences of the demographic change.

Research Themes

Research collaborations include industrial partners, local, national and international academic organizations. The core research activity for theme (a) involves the conduction of large cohort studies aiming to address open questions with respect to the biology of early aging. Core research activities towards theme (c) aim to elucidate the interaction of the vegetative nervous system and hormonal regulation with downstream biological systems in response to environmental stressors and preventive measures. The latter extends from nutrition or exercise to complementary medical approaches. Where possible, interventions will be evaluated in the context of large randomized controlled trials. Research in health assessments to modelling of contextual effects.

Research will be conducted in close cooperation with industrial partners (e.g. BASF, Synlab Laboratories, Daimler-Chrysler, EADS), local scientific partners (e.g. scientists at the Mannheim Central Institute of Mental Health, the Heidelberg Medical Faculty, the Mannheim University, and the German Cancer Research Centre). To foster this collaborative research, the MIPH together with the Chair of Tropical Hygiene and Public Health at the Heidelberg Medical Faculty have founded the Public Health Network MA-HD. The Network is endorsed by the deans of both medical faculties and by the president (Rektorat) of the Heidelberg University. The main national and international collaborations extend to the Technical University of Dresden, the Duesseldorf University, the University of Göttingen, the Harvard School of Public Health, the Ohio State University, the Karolinska Institute, and the University College London.

Organisation

he MIPH is lead by Prof. Joachim E. Fischer, MD MSc, who is supported by a strong executive management team led by Dr. Kristina Hoffmann. During the founding period of the institute, national and international experts will assume part-time or contracted positions. These scientists include in alphabetical order:

Prof. David Aldridge (University of Witten-Herdecke for qualitative research and complementary medicine),
Dr. Jos Bosch (University of Birmingham for Psychoneuroimmunology),
Prof. Gerald Hüther (University of Göttingen for Neurobiology of Prevention),
Prof. Michael Mück-Weimann (Technical University Dresden for Ambulatory Monitoring),
Dr. Herbert Renz-Polster (Prevention in Children and Adolescents, Media and Health Care Publications),
Prof. Michael Schlander (Health Economics and Health Technology Assessments),
Dr. Alexander Schleppers (Health Care Management),
Prof. SV Subramanian (Harvard School of Public Health for Multilevel Statistical Modelling in Social Epidemiology) and
Prof. Julian F. Thayer (Ohio State University for Psychophysiology and Health Psychology).