11th Young Investigator Academy for Medical Technology (NAMT)
12-16 January 2026, Charité-Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany
DFG Young Investigator Academy for Medical Technology (NAMT) ‘Innovative Medical Imaging in Inflammation’ starts
The research training group BIOQIC (Graduiertenkolleg GRK2260) together with SFB1340 (Matrix-in-Vision) and the Department of Radiology of the Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin are going to host the 11th DFG Young Investigator Academy for Medical Technology (NAMT). The topic of the workshop will be ‘Innovative Medical Imaging in Inflammation’. The scientific program will gather outstanding international experts from the field of quantitative and clinical medical imaging to teach young scientists about the current state of the art and the latest developments in MRI.
The aim of the NAMT is to prepare scientists at an early stage of their careers to carry out research projects independently and to introduce them to the management of their first DFG project. The YYoung Investigator Academy for Medical Technology will be organized as a joint event by scientists from Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin – and the University of Münster in January 2026 in Berlin.
Topic of the Young Investigator Academy for Medical Technology
Inflammation is a rapid and highly effective defense reaction of the body’s immune system to a variety of tissue damage such as infections, injuries, autoimmune processes or cancer. However, dysregulated inflammation can lead to excessive, chronic or even suppressed immune responses and plays an important role in the development of widespread diseases such as sepsis, such as sepsis, rheumatoid arthritis, liver fibrosis, Crohn’s disease and cancer. This enormous plasticity of inflammatory processes currently poses a major challenge in their detection, characterization and quantification using clinical diagnostic imaging. Therefore, current biomarkers for the detection and follow-up of inflammatory and inflammation-associated diseases in clinical-radiological routine are often non-specific for inflammation and early stages of potentially dangerous tissue changes. Against this background, the planned Young Investigator Academy for Medical Technology is intended to sensitize young scientists in the field of clinical imaging to physically based and quantifiable image markers for the detection and characterization of inflammation and to contribute to attracting outstanding young scientists in the natural sciences and life sciences to the further development of medical imaging as a key diagnostic technology for the non-invasive detection and assessment of inflammation-related tissue changes. The academy is intended to make it easier for young scientists to develop their own scientific profile at an early stage and to make use of research networks in the field of medical technology in Germany and abroad.
Participation in the Young Investigator Academy for Medical Technology
The NAMT is aimed at early career researchers from the natural sciences and medicine who have recently completed their doctorate or will complete it by 2025 at the latest and who have not yet acquired DFG funding themselves. Interest in a career in the scientific system is a prerequisite. The aim is a DFG project in individual funding with a limited financial scope.
Those interested in participating in the Young Investigator Academy for Medical Technology should submit the following documents, which are decisive for the selection of participants:
– Project outline (max. four pages)
– Current curriculum vitae (see DFG information sheet 53.200)
– List of publications and conference papers (if available)
– Copy of the doctoral certificate / letter stating that the doctoral procedure has been initiated;
– For medical doctors: Declaration from the clinic or institute management stating that, if the project application is approved, a leave of absence of at least 50 percent for the duration of the project is guaranteed.
The topic of the project idea must match the focus of the Young Investigator Academy for Medical Technology ‘Innovative Medical Imaging in Inflammation’. No clinical studies are funded as part of the NAMT.
The application documents must be sent in a single pdf file to the e-mail address namt@charite.de by August 29, 2025. Multiple individual documents as email attachments will not be accepted.
The heads of the NAMT will review the applications and invite up to 20 participants to the event. Applicants will be informed by the end of October 2025 whether they can take part in the Young Investigator Academy for Medical Technology.
Participation in the academy week is mandatory. Travel costs (second-class train), accommodation, and meals will be partially covered. Participants are expected to contribute €100.
Young Investigator Academy for Medical Technology, Part I:
The Young Investigator Academy for Medical Technology begins with a week of events. From 12-14 January 2026 in Berlin, the participants will develop and deepen their knowledge of the possibilities of ‘Innovative Medical Imaging in Inflammation’ through lectures, discussions and excursions. To this end, experts from Germany and abroad will give lectures and discuss ways to improve image-based diagnostics in inflammatory diseases.
Following the 3-day scientific symposium on 15 and 16 January, the young scientists will receive targeted support in preparing their own DFG funding proposal. In this context, the participants will present their project ideas and discuss them with the experts present.
Young Investigator Academy for Medical Technology, Part II:
In the second part of the academy, participants will develop their project outlines for regular DFG research grant applications (Guideline 50.01) based on their experiences during the week. As an alternative to a research grant, they can also submit a Walter Benjamin application (postdoctoral fellowship abroad or postdoctoral position in Germany, see DFG Guideline 50.10). Funding requires completion of academic training, usually a doctorate. The planned duration of the project is one year, and the funding amount per application is typically approximately €50,000–€80,000 per year. The final application must be submitted via the DFG’s elan portal by April 29, 2026.
The organizers:
Prof. Jing Guo, Klinik für Radiologie, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Prof. Carmen Infante Duarte, ECRC, Institut für Neuroimmunologieapl., Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Prof. Friedemann Kiefer, European Institute for Molecular Imaging, Universität Münster
Prof. Ingolf Sack, Klinik für Radiologie, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Prof. Michael Schäfers, Klinik für Nuklearmedizin, Universitätsklinikum Münster
Prof. Tobias Schäffter, PTB Berlin
Prof. Dr. med. Matthias Taupitz, Klinik für Radiologie, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Downloads:
(Will soon be published)
official DFG announcement (in German)
Flyer of the 11th NAMT
Program:
Will soon be published
International Speakers & National Speakers:
Will soon be published
Contact for questions about the Young Investigator Academy for Medical Technology (NAMT):
Dr. Melanie Estrella
Institute of Radiology, Charité Berlin
Tel: +49 30 450 527286
namt@charite.de
Scientific questions will be answered by the coordinators of the NAMT:
Prof. Dr. Jing Guo and Prof. Ingolf Sack
namt@charite.de
Contact at the DFG Head Office:
Dr. Laura Stappert, Tel.: +49 228 885-2735, laura.stappert@dfg.de
Location:
Charité Campus Mitte, Charitéplatz 1, Berlin
12-14 January 2026, CCO Auditorium (internal address: Virchowweg 6)
15-16 January 2026, Workshop in the BIOQIC seminar room
