A collaborative research platform between Saarland University and Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS) to accelerate pharmaceutical innovation—from AI-driven drug discovery to clinical translation.
The PharmaScienceHub (PSH) is a dynamic research platform built on over 15 years of collaboration between Saarland University and the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS).
More than 80 research groups and 500 interdisciplinary researchers work hand-in-hand to drive innovation in pharmaceutical discovery & development.
We benefit from strong ties with 30 regional and interregional companies, fostering national and international partnerships across the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.
PSH identifies commercially promising research from within its network and collaborates with partners such as Triathlon Southwest and HZI Innovation to shape these into fundable venture concepts — bridging the gap between discovery and entrepreneurship.
Identify new drugs and transform promising research results into market-ready medicines quickly and efficiently.
Integrate efforts in biomedical research, clinical medicine, and (bio)informatics for drug discovery.
Collaborate closely with national and international partners in the pharmaceutical and biotech industries.
Train young scientists and technical staff and strengthen ties between HIPS and Saarland University through joint appointments.
Facilitate the transition of innovations from basic research to clinical applications and promote start-up creation.
Ensure joint use of advanced laboratory space and equipment, with planned expansions to support drug development.
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Experienced group leaders driving interdisciplinary research across different disciplines and shaping PSH's scientific vision.
500+
A collaborative network of scientists working across disciplines to tackle complex challenges in infection research, oncology, neurology, rare diseases, and beyond.
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Key partners from the pharmaceutical and biotech sectors fostering innovation and accelerating market access for new therapies.
PharmaScienceHub unites a broad community of scientists, innovators, and industry partners who collectively drive progress in pharmaceutical research.
View All MembersThe PharmaScienceHub is strategically shaped by nine emerging Profile Areas — Clinical Trials, Data Science & AI, Discovery, Preclinical Testing & 3R, Infection Research, Materials in Health & Delivery Systems, Natural Products & Microbiota, Neurobiology, and Systems Bioengineering & Synthetic Biology — which define our long-term vision and future scientific capabilities.
We bring together a dynamic, interdisciplinary research community whose expertise spans a broad range of disease-focused Research Areas, from oncology and infection to cardiology, neurology and rare diseases. Powered by cutting-edge methods and technologies, our scientists work at the forefront of organoid and model systems, multi-omics, pharmaceutical engineering, data science and beyond — collaborating closely with clinical and industry partners to translate discovery-driven research into real-therapeutic solutions.
To advance this scientific mission, the PharmaScienceHub regularly launches competitive funding calls for its members that support high-impact research projects, foster cross-disciplinary collaboration and accelerate the development of innovative ideas along the discovery-to-application continuum.
Exploring microbial specialized metabolism and microbiome interactions to discover novel bioactive compounds for anti-infective drug development.
Developing trustworthy AI and machine learning methods to accelerate drug discovery, compound design, and toxicology prediction.
Combating antimicrobial resistance through integrated pathogen research, host-interaction studies, and the discovery of novel anti-infective drugs with innovative modes of action.
Advancing translational cancer research through proteogenomics, biomarker discovery, and high-throughput drug screening to accelerate personalized therapeutic development for rare and common malignancies.
Integrating clinical investigation with experimental neuroscience to uncover disease mechanisms and develop personalized diagnostics and therapies for neurodegenerative, neuroinflammatory, and neuropsychiatric disorders.
Accelerating drug development through investigator-initiated and multicenter clinical trials across oncology, metabolic, and infectious diseases, bridging academic research and industry collaboration.
Developing innovative smart carriers, nanomaterials, and biohybrid delivery systems for targeted therapeutics across anti-infective, cardiovascular, pulmonary, and ocular applications.
Advancing early-stage drug discovery and preclinical validation through innovative cellular models, organoids, and microfluidic platforms while pioneering 3R strategies to minimize animal testing.
Advancing targeted drug delivery through smart carriers, nanomaterials, and biohybrid systems for anti-infective, cardiovascular, pulmonary, and ocular therapeutics.
Gender-dependent mechanisms of neuroglial cell function in the context of health and disease. Welcome addresses, keynote lecture by Prof. Nathalie Rouach, Mercator Fellow talks by Prof. Elly Hol and Prof. Enrico Glaab, followed by an inform...
The German Conference on Bioinformatics (GCB2026) is an annual international meeting that brings together researchers from all fields of bioinformatics. Over the years, it has become a platform for the entire bioinformatics community. Recen...
Dr. Gaël Schaeffer, scientific coordinator at the Stratingh Institute for Chemistry (University of Groningen) and leader of the faculty's "Green Labs" initiative, addresses the overlooked environmental footprint of academic r...
ELLIS Summer School 2026 on Trustworthy & Responsible AI in Drug Discovery (TRAID) One week has passed since an inspiring week of talks, hands-on sessions and exchange around one central question: How can we build AI systems that are tr... Read More
ELLIS Summer School 2026 on Trustworthy & Responsible AI in Drug Discovery (TRAID) One week has passed since an inspiring week of talks, hands-on sessions and exchange around one central question: How can we build AI systems that are trustworthy and responsible enough to improve decision-making in drug discovery? Monday — Prof. Dr. Kerstin Lenhof opened with ethical and technical perspectives on trustworthy ML in medicine. Dr. Gaël Varoquaux followed with uncertainty in LLMs and approaches to rejecting hallucinations. Tuesday — Dr. Rebekka Burkholz presented neuro-explicit mutation prediction and neuralODEs. Dr. Sofia Imperatore introduced geometric deep learning, from point clouds to proteins. Dr. Johannes Schimunek discussed rigor in ML research, and Dr. Oliver M. Crook explored spurious correlations and shortcuts. Wednesday — Dr. Miriam Mathea addressed trustworthy molecular property prediction. Prof. Dr. Lena Kästner led a workshop on responsible AI, explainability, trustworthiness and safety. The afternoon took us to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Völklinger Hütte. Thursday — Dr. Philipp Flotho spoke about generalizing from synthetic to real-world data, followed by Dr. Meelis Lootus on startups in drug discovery. Dr. Daniel Probst and the Volkamer Lab then led hands-on workshops on trustworthy AI and talktorials for drug design. The day ended with a BBQ. Friday — Dr. Giovanna Jaramillo-Gutierrez closed the scientific program with a talk on the dual-use nature of general-purpose AI and biosecurity concerns. We wrapped up with the closing session and poster awards. Great talks, lively discussions and a week to remember. Organized by PharmaScienceHub, CISPA, ELSA and ELLIS. Scientific program led by Prof. Dr. Andrea Volkamer and Prof. Dr. Mario Fritz, together with Dr. Kenan Bozhüyük and Prof. Dr. Andreas Keller. Photos: Oliver Dietze, PSH Show Less
🔬 PSH Members in the News We're proud to spotlight PSH member Prof. Dr. Verena Wolf, who is coordinating a project tackling one of the most urgent challenges in modern medicine: antibiotic resistance. Every year, millions of deaths wor... Read More
🔬 PSH Members in the News We're proud to spotlight PSH member Prof. Dr. Verena Wolf, who is coordinating a project tackling one of the most urgent challenges in modern medicine: antibiotic resistance. Every year, millions of deaths worldwide are linked to drug-resistant bacteria — and developing new antibiotics remains notoriously risky, with many candidates failing early due to toxicity or lack of efficacy. OptimAIze is a new collaborative project bringing together the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI), Saarland University, the Helmholtz Institute for Pharmaceutical Research Saarland (HIPS), and biotech company smartbax GmbH. The goal? To accelerate the discovery of new antibiotics using generative AI — designed to boost efficacy while reducing damage to human cells. What makes it stand out is a closed-loop learning cycle that pairs AI predictions with real experimental validation, feeding results back into the models to sharpen them over time. And crucially, the team doesn't rely on data alone: 💬 "Purely data-driven models reach their limits, especially when only limited or unbalanced data is available. That is why, in OptimAIze, we rely on a combination of AI and mechanistic expertise. This allows us not only to make more precise predictions but also to better understand why certain molecules are effective or toxic." — Prof. Dr. Verena Wolf, Head of Neuro-Mechanistic Modeling & Project Coordinator, OptimAIze Over its three-year run, OptimAIze aims to set new standards for AI-supported drug discovery — and to give back to the research community by publishing its algorithms as open source wherever possible. The project is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space. Congratulations — we're excited to follow this project. 👏 📖 Show Less
We are delighted to announce that applications deadline is postponed for the ELLIS Summer School 2026 on Trustworthy & Responsible AI in Drug Discovery (TRAID)! New Application deadline: 19 July 2026, 23:59 (CEST) 📍 Saarland University,... Read More
We are delighted to announce that applications deadline is postponed for the ELLIS Summer School 2026 on Trustworthy & Responsible AI in Drug Discovery (TRAID)! New Application deadline: 19 July 2026, 23:59 (CEST) 📍 Saarland University, Saarbrücken, Germany 📅 24–28 August 2026 The summer school will bring together students, researchers, and professionals interested in the development and application of trustworthy, responsible, and innovative AI methods in drug discovery and pharmaceutical research. 👉 Apply here: Program and further information can be found on our website: Show Less
Dr.-Ing. Kristina Scherbaum
Managing Director, PharmaScienceHub
Saarland University, Campus E2 1, R 2.07
66123 Saarbrücken
+49 681 98806 6001