At the invitation of Klaus Holetschek, chairman of the CSU parliamentary group in the Bavarian State Parliament, EU Commissioner for Health and Animal Welfare Olivér Várhelyi visited the Centre for Advanced Laser Applications (CALA) in Garching. The focus of the discussion with Prof. Ferenc Krausz and representatives from politics, science, medicine, and industry was on the future prospects of European research and health policy.
The talks centered on Europe’s role as a hub for innovation, collaboration between science, politics, and industry, and the question of how scientific findings can be translated into medical applications more quickly.
Ferenc Krausz presented current developments in his research on personalized preventive medicine and subsequently gave the guests a tour of the research center’s laboratories. Particular interest was shown in new findings from ongoing studies, which are considered another important milestone on the path to early, individualized preventive healthcare.
The international research initiative protecting.health, launched by Krausz, aims to detect diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease much earlier — even before clinical symptoms appear. This is made possible by highly precise laser methods and AI-supported analyses of molecular “fingerprints” in the blood. Current study results suggest that individual molecular patterns remain stable over extended periods of time and that deviations can serve as early indicators of changes in health.
Pictures: Veit Ziegelmaier
