Making translational medicine a reality: the LCTR-Fuerschungsklinik Lëtzebuerg opens its doors

Researchers and clinicians take a further step towards patient-centric clinical research

• Luxembourg Clinical and Translational Research Centre (LCTR)
• Press
• Clinical and Epidemiological Investigation Center (CIEC)

Resulting from a collaboration between the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL) and the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH), the Luxembourg Clinical and Translational Research Centre (LCTR- Fuerschungsklinik Lëtzebuerg) is the first national research infrastructure that brings together clinicians, researchers and patients with the aim of translating research findings into tangible therapeutic and diagnostic solutions. The LCTR was inaugurated in the presence of numerous notable guests from the country’s healthcare, research and political scenes, including Mrs Paulette Lenert, Luxembourg’s Minister of Health, and Mr Claude Meisch, Minister of Higher Education and Research.

Co-managed by both the CHL and the LIH, in close cooperation with Hôpitaux Robert Schuman (HRS) and the Centre Hospitalier Emile Mayrisch (CHEM), the LCTR Fuerschungsklinik offers all healthcare and research players in Luxembourg a platform to foster technological innovation and translate it into routine clinical practice. It also aims to develop novel personalised medical solutions to improve the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of major chronic diseases – such as cancer, infectious diseases, and immune and neurodegenerative disorders, among others – thereby addressing currently unmet patient needs.

The LCTR will pool together cutting-edge research infrastructure, medical equipment, and administrative and project management support from the Research Unit of the CHL and from the Translational Medicine Operations Hub (TMOH) of the LIH, and make them available to researchers and clinicians from Luxembourg’s hospitals and research institutions. “This will offer them the opportunity to develop innovative translational and clinical research projects, creating a bridge between research and healthcare and promoting the integration of patient samples and real-life data in research, thereby enhancing the effectiveness of clinical trials and improving patient outcomes”, explains Prof Ulf Nehrbass, CEO of the LIH.

Indeed, the LCTR is at the juncture between basic research and epidemiological and clinical research, putting the patient at the heart of its activities. Eligible patients will have the opportunity to actively take part in ground-breaking epidemiological and translational research projects, as well as clinical trials, thereby gaining access to and directly benefiting from novel therapies and innovative diagnostic tools, which would otherwise unavailable to them. 

The LCTR will be able to host numerous existing translational programmes focused on topics and diseases such as Parkinson’s Disease (National Centre of Excellence in Research on Parkinson’s disease – NCER-PD), cancer (National Centre for Translational Cancer Research in Luxembourg – NCTCR), digital precision health (Clinnova) and COVID-19 (e.g. CoVaLux, CON-VINCE, Predi-COVID, etc.), among others. LCTR Fuerschungsklinik Lëtzebuerg projects will be selected by a dedicated Translational Selection Committee (TSC).

The LCTR will be a cornerstone of Luxembourg’s collaborative ‘bench-to-bed-to-bench’ translational approach, supporting the development of truly personalised therapies for a broad range of diseases. Moreover, the LCTR will also contribute to consolidating the reputation of the country’s research and healthcare ecosystem as an international leader in translational medicine

concludes Dr Romain Nati (CEO of the CHL).

The LCTR infrastructure and support teams is open to all national hospitals and research institutes seeking to develop their translational projects, subject to prior TSC approval and project funding.

For more photos of the event click here.

Funding and Collaborations

The LCTR receives financial support from the ERDF (European Regional Development Fund) (agreement 2018-04-026-21).

About the Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH)

The Luxembourg Institute of Health (LIH) is a public biomedical research organization focused on precision health and invested in becoming a leading reference in Europe for the translation of scientific excellence into meaningful benefits for patients.

LIH places the patient at the heart of all its activities, driven by a collective obligation towards society to use knowledge and technology arising from research on patient derived data to have a direct impact on people’s health. Its dedicated teams of multidisciplinary researchers strive for excellence, generating relevant knowledge linked to immune related diseases and cancer.

The institute embraces collaborations, disruptive technology and process innovation as unique opportunities to improve the application of diagnostics and therapeutics with the long-term goal of preventing disease.

About the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg

A state-of-the-art hospital with 581 beds and a national reference centre for many disciplines, the Centre Hospitalier de Luxembourg (CHL) provides innovative diagnostic and treatment services that meet internationally recognised quality standards accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCI), as well as a teaching and research mission as a public institution. www.chl.lu