With the establishment of the Institute for Bioinformatics and Medical Informatics (IBMI) the University of Tübingen brings together expertise in informatics, medicine, and the life sciences in a unique institute bridging the existing faculties of science and medicine.

Over the last decades, the use of computer science methods has fundamentally changed research in the life sciences and with the ongoing digital transformation and a pervasive application of artificial intelligence, the entire field is facing new and pivotal challenges. Pooling the expertise in an interdisciplinary institute is thus essential for effective research as well as the comprehensive education of qualified scientists in the digitized life sciences.

IBMI is working on the entire spectrum of problems ranging from basic research to clinical translation and the development of novel methods to their application. In addition, the historically often separated disciplines Bioinformatics and Medical Informatics are brought together. Even though both disciplines differ in the type and origin of the data considered, the heterogeneity and the immense amount of the data pose similar challenges to both fields. Especially their interface, where molecular data (Bioinformatics) and clinical data (Medical Informatics) shall be consolidated, harbors a tremendous potential for corporate and integrated research.

Joining Bioinformatics and Medical Informatics in an interdisciplinary institute is thus a vital step to bundle the diverse expertise on these fields in Tübingen. The emerging synergies allow an excellent education of junior scientists and to significantly contribute to the research and the solution of the most exciting challenges in the life sciences and medicine.