Botnar Research Centre for Child Health: Professor Daniel Müller about success measures and challenges ahead

The 10-year research and application programme of the Botnar Research Centre brings together scientists and clinical researchers from a variety of disciplines with the aim to develop new methods and digital innovations for global use in paediatrics. In the first place, the Centre will focus on curing diseases of children and adolescents in low- and middle-income countries. Cardio-respiratory diseases, regenerative surgery, diabetes and immunology/infectious diseases are the four medical foci addressed by so-called research streams. Each research stream describes a novel form of interdisciplinary collaboration, which is required to address the complexity of a process starting from defining a health problem towards developing the clinical solution and testing the clinical treatment for the large-scale application. Institutions involved in the BRCCH include the Basel-based ETH-Department of Biosystems Science and Engineering (D-BSSE) and other Zurich-based ETH departments, the University of Basel including its Children's Hospital, the University Hospital and the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute.

How does this new form of application-based cross-border collaboration work, what are the measures of success put in place and what are the challenges ahead? In an interview, D-BSSE Professor Daniel Müller who developed the scientific concept for the Botnar Research Centre on Child Care together with Professor Urs Frey, Director at the Children's Hospital of the University of Basel, replies to the various questions surrounding the newly founded Botnar Research Centre.


Daniel, the Botnar Research Centre for Child Health relates to UN's Sustainable Development Goal No. 3 which calls for healthy lives and well-being for all at all ages. What measures are put in place to estimate the success of the newly founded centre?
The unique feature of the BRCCH is that it does not support individual research projects, it supports research streams. A stream describes a translational project which defines the medical problem in, for example, a particular form of diabetes which occurs frequently in developing countries and which cannot yet be cured. It defines the entire path from the medical problem to the application of a specific treatment to the children. To be more specific: up to 30% of children in developing African countries suffer from diabetes. Now the question is: how do we medically treat as many children as possible? It is an illusion to think that the kids will run around with a dialysis system or that they can visit the clinics every two days to continue a given treatment. So, we are working on, for example, a one-time diabetes treatment that will be applied only once (or two times) to cure diabetes. This is a very new attempt. To address this challenge, we have brought together internationally outstanding diabetes experts, researchers, engineers, and medical doctors. We have reached success in the case of diabetes and other medical problems if we manage to cure as many young patients as possible in an innovative, practical and sustainable way.

The scientific concept for the BRCCH is based on the findings summarized in the 2015 report of the World Health Organisation (WHO). The report states that healthcare systems suitable for children are needed. What exactly is meant by that?
The WHO reported on the grand challenges in children's health in developing countries. With our concept for the BRCCH we want to avoid redundancies. So, the initial question was: which child health care problems are not already being addressed by foundations such as the Gates Foundation, and to which problems can we make outstanding contributions with our expertise at ETH Zurich? These were amongst the key criteria that helped us to identify the four medical foci of the BRCCH. Of course, there are many more health issues and diseases but the BRCCH has only limited resources. And, back to your question: most clinical treatments are developed for adults. In contrast, we need to develop treatments suitable to the needs of children.

A unique feature of the BRCCH are research streams. Which part of the research stream takes place in Switzerland, and what happens in the developing country?
The medical problems are defined abroad in developing countries. In the case of diabetes: we need to know the circumstances the children live in, the limitations and boundaries of specific treatments, including their genetic predispositions. With this information and together with the Children's Hospital in Basel we will develop tailored diabetes treatments. Novel treatments will be first tested here in Basel and then transferred to children abroad. For several reasons, including ethical and societal ones, we will have to test the treatment in clinical trials in Basel first and cannot go to Africa directly - that would be a no-go! Only if a new treatment is established and approved it can be transferred abroad.

The D-BSSE combines many disciplines under one roof. Which disciplines and research groups will be involved in the BRCCH?
Sai Reddy with his fantastic approach to engineer antibodies or antigens against infections caused by viruses or bacteria. He will set up an antibody engineering and production pipeline. In addition, Tanja Stadler plays a major role in predicting whether a new infectious disease will spread. She will simulate how the infection evolves to estimate how fast it spreads and whether there will be an outbreak or not. If Tanja recognises that there will be an outbreak of disease, information is needed on the pathogen and on children and adolescents who are resistant to the pathogen because they may have developed antibodies. We will further have to analyse pathogens and antibodies to engineer antibodies for treatment. This also involves the analysis of large volumes of data. Karsten Borgwardt and Niko Beerenwinkel will be involved in big data management and analysis. They will look for patterns in biomedical data and, in addition, develop the knowhow for machine learning and artificial intelligence. These insights can then activate Sai Reddy's antibody pipeline including the vaccination-testing machinery. They will also help to build up a BRCCH data centre. As part of other research streams, Jörg Stelling, Martin Fussenegger, Yakoov Benenson and other groups from the D-BSSE will engineer cellular systems and develop synthetic gene circuits to restore cellular functions for health control. Furthermore, Timm Schroeder contributes his expertise in stem cell research to a research stream restoring basic body functions by regenerative surgery.

Does the BRCCH fund new professorships or research groups?
Yes, at the ETH Zurich and the University of Basel we will establish six new professorships that will contribute to the research streams related to children's health. For our department, it will be important to have a new professorship that better links cell systems science and engineering with medicine. This expertise includes a strong focus on applied sciences and medicine. Another professorship will focus on ethical issues related to children's health care. We are engineering cells, tissues, and organs with artificial, engineered components to replace dysfunctional parts of the body. Thus, we need a professor specialised in ethics in translational medicine for children. It is important to note that each of the six professorships will have a dual appointment with the University of Basel and the ETH Zurich.

What type of institutions are involved in Tanzania, what are their roles?
The BRCCH will work together with professional institutions to transfer approved clinical treatments to reach children in developing countries. Here in Basel we work closely with the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), an incredibly good institution with a well-established and strong network of institutions in Tanzania. Since many years, the Swiss TPH works with local health institutions, clinics, and other specialists in Tanzania. In parallel, the Fondation Botnar establishes a network in Tanzania. This is why the BRCCH will have an initial focus on Tanzania. Next to the Swiss TPH it may also work with other professional institutions such as the Red Cross, Red Crescent or WHO.

In an earlier interview you stated that your dream is to open another centre which translates the enormous potential of biosystems engineering into translational medicine. What are the challenges in realising such a centre in the near future?
My vision is to bring together the internationally leading experts to develop an internationally unique and powerful engineering concept for translational medicine that bundles the excellent strengths of the bio-sciences, engineering, medical sciences and industry in Basel. We need to assemble a critical number of stakeholders to support this initiative. It is easy to evoke enthusiasm but it is the greatest challenge to shape up an outstanding realisable concept. The even larger problem may be to find a solid financial basis provided by a private foundation, the SNF, industry or another institution. Being one of the strongest life science hubs in Europe, Basel brings along a solid base to look for new ways to cure diseases. The unique location and strength of Basel brings along an amazing potential for such endeavours!


Thank you!