The research conducted by Medical Clinic 4 takes place at the Else Kröner-Fresenius Center (EKFZ) for Nephrological Research within the Department of Medicine at Goethe University Frankfurt. The center was established in 2022 and is funded by the Else Kröner-Fresenius Foundation with €10 million. The aim of the scientific work is to gain a better understanding of the development of kidney diseases and their consequences for the entire organism, ultimately to identify novel therapeutic approaches. Research at the EKFZ for Nephrological Research is translational from bench to bedside and back. Accordingly, the EKFZ boasts an excellent research infrastructure for basic science research, clinical research, and a center for clinical studies.
Link to Else Kröner-Fresenius Stiftung (EKFS)
With the establishment of the Else Kröner-Fresenius Center (EKFZ) for Nephrological Research, the third facility of its kind in Germany is being created. In 2005, the foundation inaugurated a center for Nutritional Medicine in collaboration with the Technical University of Munich. This was followed in 2019 by a Center for Digital Health in partnership with the Technical University of Dresden. Prof. Michael Madeja, Chairman of the Board of the Else Kröner-Fresenius Foundation, explains the rationale behind establishing a nephrological center at this location.
Kidney diseases were a central theme in the life’s work of our founder, Else Kröner, but have not yet been a particular focus of the Else Kröner-Fresenius Foundation. When Goethe University Frankfurt considered the idea of making the Department of Nephrology independent in both research and patient care, thereby establishing a new focus in kidney research, the foundation saw an opportunity to initiate substantial progress in kidney disease research. Additionally, it allowed us to realize one of Else Kröner’s most important medical concerns at her primary site of activity.