The Research Center One Health – from Molecules to Systems investigates the fundamental mechanisms of health and disease, starting from the molecular level right through to higher-level systems. The ecosystem serves as a context for also considering the complex interrelationships between environmental health, animal health and human health, in keeping with the “One Health” concept. After all, humans can only stay healthy in an intact environment.

On the one hand, the Research Center deals with fundamental molecular and systemic control mechanisms that maintain healthy physical and mental functional mechanisms. And, on the other, it focuses on disorders within systems that cause deviations from the normal state, thus causing diseases in the broadest sense of the word. In addition, the “One Health” concept needs to be developed further on a theoretical level and applied to new technologies. The focus here is on the fields of molecular biology, water research, molecular cancer research, and neuroscience.

Prof. Dirk Schadendorf, Director:

“We live in an era of global change. Since the dawn of the Anthropocene, our planet has been evolving at an unprecedented pace on all biological scales – from molecules to humans to ecosystems – raising fundamental questions about the future of our planet. The well-being of human society hinges directly on the quality and health of the environment in which we live.

This is why the Research Center One Health Ruhr – from Molecules to Systems is dedicated to studying the fundamental mechanisms of health and disease. In the process, the ecosystem serves as the context, so that the complex interdependence between environmental health and human health can be taken into account. One Health Ruhr addresses, for one thing, basic molecular and systemic mechanisms that maintain physical and mental functions. For another, it focuses on disruptions within systems that produce deviations from the normal state and, as a result, cause diseases in the broadest sense. Following this holistic approach, One Health Ruhr combines the central fields of molecular biology, water research, molecular cancer research as well as neuroscience in a multidisciplinary science hub where the boundaries of separate disciplines are overcome. The overall goals pursued by One Health Ruhr do not only reflect current international scientific challenges, but, first and foremost, represent the exceptional strengths of the UA Ruhr science landscape.”

(Photo credit: UK Essen/Martin Kaiser)