Danube ARC: Successful midterm review

After one year, the team of the Danube Allergy Research Cluster (Danube ARC) at the Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences (KL) in Krems can already draw a first successful conclusion: "Our research and education programme has started successfully, full of verve, the first promising research results are available, the international PhD programme is running at full speed and the teaching programme, which enables the transfer of knowledge to health professionals, will already start in autumn", summarises Univ. Prof. Dr. Rudolf Valenta, scientific director of Danube ARC, summarised during a presentation at the research groups of the AIT Austrian Institute for Technology GmbH at the Tulln site.

Starting in the winter semester 2021/22, Karl Landsteiner University in Krems will also offer a certificate course in "Allergology and Clinical Immunology" online and on-site in Krems. The continuing education programme, which is unique in Europe, enables medical professionals to acquire specialised knowledge and immunological basics as well as clinical skills in the field of allergology and clinical immunology, both theoretically and practically. Project leader Dr. Petra Zieglmayer says: "In order for the population to benefit from cutting-edge research, new research results must be passed on as quickly as possible to the people working in the health professions. This way, the findings can be implemented quickly for the benefit of the people. This is done through the postgraduate teaching in our programme."

Provincial Governor Johanna Mikl-Leitner emphasises the importance of Danube ARC for the province of Lower Austria: "Health is the highest human good. That is why we are pushing science and research in Lower Austria, because they are an essential criterion for the well-being of people. Allergies in particular, however, lead to massive restrictions and major health problems. Therefore, the Danube Allergy Research Cluster is a national and international lighthouse that should enable better treatments against allergies for those affected."

The province of Lower Austria is supporting this project for a total of three years with around 7.6 million euros. "Everyone in Lower Austria will benefit from the Danube Allergy Research Cluster, because this is where research and education in the field of allergology take place at the highest level," says Governor Mikl-Leitner with conviction.

The headquarters and hub of the interdisciplinary Danube Allergy Research Cluster is the Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences (KL) in Krems. In addition, the Medical University of Vienna, the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences (IFA Tulln), the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, the Austrian Institute of Technology (Tulln site) and the University Hospitals of St. Pölten and Krems are involved in the Danube ARC. In the Danube Allergy Research Cluster, up to 96 people are conducting research on the topic of allergies in 16 different research projects.Press Release, 13 Mai 2021 (German Only)