Opening of ICON research center: concentrated expertise for medical research transfer

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Cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of death in Germany. And many illnesses that affect the heart and its vessels have a metabolic origin, at least in part. Accordingly, strategies aimed at preventing or treating diseases such as heart attacks, diabetes, and strokes must always take metabolic causes into consideration.

The newly opened Interfaculty Center for Endocrine and Cardiovascular Disease Network Modelling and Clinical Transfer (ICON) on the LMU Grosshadern/Martinsried Campus concentrates interdisciplinary research related to diseases of the cardiovascular system in one place and will bring innovative therapeutic approaches from research to clinical application.

A unique research concept in Europe, state-of-the-art technical facilities, and work on optimized large animal models offer ideal conditions for practice-oriented innovation. ICON’s facilities are particularly excellent when it comes to imaging techniques, surgical equipment, and animal housing. ICON is the sixth research building at LMU to be funded by the German federal government and the Free State of Bavaria since the corresponding program began in 2007. The overall costs of 63 million euros are being shared by the German federal government and the Free State of Bavaria, supplemented by co-financing between LMU and LMU University Hospital.

A strong marker for excellent medical research

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Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär emphasizes: “Health research is an important priority for our ministry and a topic which inspires great hopes. Cardiovascular diseases are the most common cause of death in Germany. The new ICON center will do a lot of good work in bringing innovative therapeutic approaches to practice. By funding the construction and equipping of the facility at LMU, we want to make a long-term contribution to improvements in diagnostics and therapy that will benefit millions of people.” The project was selected following a highly competitive application process. The Federal Ministry of Research, Technology, and Space is supporting the construction of ICON with funding worth a total of 23 million euros.

Markus Blume, Bavarian Minister of Science: “Three ministers at the one time – the importance of the ICON research building in Grosshadern/Martinsried couldn’t be clearer! ICON is pursuing a novel approach, without parallel in Europe, to research into cardiovascular diseases, bringing veterinary and human medicine, research and application under one roof – and doing so at a unique site in the middle of a 100-hectare medical cluster. Congratulations to the scientists involved for their courage and their fight against the number-one killer disease in Germany! The research building is a stunning success: The German Science and Humanities Council has described the concept as outstanding, the federal government and the Free State of Bavaria are sharing the costs, and the building was constructed on budget in record time. This goes to show once again that when the federal and Bavarian governments work hand in hand, then projects are accomplished with particular speed and reliability. Many thanks to Federal Research Minister Dorothee Bär and Construction Minister Christian Bernreiter for joining me in handing over the keys and for the excellent cooperation!” Markus Blume, Bavarian Minister of Science.

Bavarian Construction Minister Christian Bernreiter: “With the new ICON building, the Free State of Bavaria is laying down a strong marker in our support for excellent medical research! Our Bavarian building administration, specifically State Building Authority Munich 2, has managed to complete the highly complex building, with laboratories built to the highest security level, in just over three years of construction. This is an outstanding achievement and another milestone for Bavaria as a home of scientific excellence!”

“This new research building offers our scientists optimal conditions to leverage synergies at the Grosshadern/Martinsried site and forge deeper interconnections between basic research and clinical application,” emphasizes LMU President Professor Bernd Huber. “We’re delighted with the inauguration of ICON, the sixth research building at LMU to have been funded by the federal and Bavarian governments. We’re exceedingly grateful for this continuous support, which creates the foundations for excellent research.”

“Translation is a top priority here at LMU University Hospital – and this is precisely what ICON facilitates. It is a place where staff from LMU University Hospital and LMU Munich can test new diagnostic and therapeutic methods directly in animal experiments to gauge their suitability and safety for human patients. Innovations created at ICON will find direct access to clinical practice. This is unique for cardiac medicine in Germany,” says Medical Director of LMU University Hospital Professor Markus M. Lerch.

Professor Steffen Massberg, Director of Medical Clinic and Polyclinic I at LMU University Hospital: “ICON builds a bridge between basic research and clinical application. We have the best possible structural and personnel requirements in place to accomplish this. I know of no other institution anywhere in Europe that is so advanced when it comes to modern approaches to cardiac therapies.”

Professor Eckhard Wolf, Chair of Molecular Animal Breeding and Biotechnology at LMU: “ICON brings together the various disciplines represented at the site – human and animal medicine, biology and gene technology, pharmaceutics and chemistry – in one place. The building is a hive of highly specialized research groups, each of which masters a range of investigation capabilities at the highest level.”

The research

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Modern basic research has achieved numerous insights into the causes and mechanisms of diseases over the past few decades and developed possible therapeutic approaches. But to actually bring innovative concepts to clinical trial and later to clinical practice, such concepts have to be validated first in suitable large animal models.

This is precisely where the new ICON research institute comes in, with its ability to make translation more effective. It provides LMU doctors and veterinarians with access to a wealth of experience not only in basic biomedical research, but also specifically in the area of large animal model research. At the new ICON center, this expertise will be focused on novel diagnostic and therapeutic methods for endocrine-metabolic and cardiovascular diseases and such approaches will be validated preclinically in customized, and in particular genetically modified, large animals. To this end, the researchers at ICON will work in close proximity to and collaborate closely with LMU University Hospital.

The new building

Situated on Feodor-Lynen-Strasse to the north of LMU University Hospital Grosshadern, the new six-story building is equipped with excellent laboratories, operating theaters, animal housing facilities, offices, and evaluation zones. It has a usable floor space of 2,300 square meters and a gross floor area of around 6,800 square meters.

The building was designed by Doranth Post Architekten GmbH, who paid particular attention to the technical outfitting and energy efficiency of the building. Optimized ventilation and air-conditioning systems ensure controlled ventilation of the laboratory spaces. Highly efficient heat recovery and indirect adiabatic cooling, a process that cools air by means of water evaporation without the need for additional refrigerants, use internally occurring waste heat and greatly reduce the building’s energy consumption. In addition, solar panels on the roof generate renewable energy for the building to use.

Meanwhile, an expert prize jury has chosen the entry “Four Passages” by Berlin artist Jonas von Ostrowski as the winner of the Art in Architecture competition. The artist will begin realizing his vision in the ICON building at the end of 2025.

ICON: Interfaculty Center for Endocrine and Cardiovascular Disease Network Modelling and Clinical Transfer