Institut für Klinische Pharmakologie / Nürnberg
Research

Research at the Institute of Clinical Pharmacology
Although still a young institute, we have already established numerous collaborations with a wide range of clinical departments at Nuremberg Hospital. Our research focus lies particularly on Investigator-Initiated Trials (IITs). In addition to conducting our own studies, we also support researchers at Nuremberg Hospital in planning study designs, preparing documents for ethics committee approval, and writing grant proposals.

We have in-depth expertise and hands-on experience in conducting clinical trials across all phases—from Phase I to Phase IV. As one of the largest hospitals in Germany, Nuremberg Hospital offers a unique environment for innovative research projects that assess the real-world effectiveness of new therapies—especially in the context of pragmatic clinical trials.

Current Research Focus Areas

Pulmonary Hypertension and Real-World Mobility
In collaboration with the Lung Center at the Robert Bosch Hospital in Stuttgart and the Department of Pulmonology at Nuremberg Hospital, we are conducting a bi-center IIT investigating real-world walking behavior in patients with pulmonary hypertension. The study employs a newly developed sensor-algorithm system from the IMI initiative Mobilise-D (www.mobilise-d.eu).

Antimicrobial Stewardship and Personalized Antibiotic Therapy
As part of a project initiated in 2020 at the University Hospital Tübingen, a software tool was developed that links antibiotic prescriptions directly with the pathogen’s antibiogram. By incorporating patient-specific characteristics into a PK/PD model, the software generates a personalized prediction of plasma drug levels. The results are displayed in a user-friendly dashboard to support individualized antibiotic therapy. The tool is currently being evaluated in clinical routine on intensive care units at Nuremberg Hospital North.

Severe Adverse Effects of Chemotherapy
In a new collaboration with the Nuremberg Institute of Technology (Georg Simon Ohm), we are exploring the use of machine learning to manage chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) in breast cancer patients. The study involves both the development and validation of predictive algorithms and the testing of a novel tech platform for individualized CIPN diagnosis. Wearable sensors and ML-based analytics are used to detect and quantify changes in posture and movement patterns.

Together with the Departments of Oncology and ENT, we are also investigating cisplatin-induced hearing loss and other dose-limiting toxicities in patients with head and neck cancers undergoing radiochemotherapy.

Further Research Collaborations

Ongoing research partnerships include collaborative projects with the Departments of Anesthesiology and Surgical Intensive Care, the Institute of Radiology, Neuroradiology and Nuclear Medicine, and the Institute for Hospital Hygiene, Medical Microbiology, and Clinical Infectiology.