Wir überwinden Grenzen

A large work of art is being installed at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg / Temporary restrictions for pedestrians, cyclists and cars

Between April 20 and 26, 2021, a large-scale work of art will be erected on the corner of Breisacher Straße and Fehrenbachallee in front of the new building of the Institute for Disease Modelling and Targeted Medicine (IMITATE) of the Medical Center - University of Freiburg. During the construction work, the footpath on the southern side of Breisacher Straße and part of the road will have to be closed at this point. The artwork entitled "Die Spur" (The Trail) by artist Robert Schad is intended to visualize the personal lifeline, which sometimes runs calmly, sometimes in violently sweeping paths. At the same time, it refers to the genetic trace of diseases and the question of how this influences a person. In this way, "The Trace" represents a close link between individual themes and the scientific focus of the IMITATE building. In future, scientists there will investigate in detail the genetic causes of diseases and how these can be treated with new therapies.

"The Track" consists of two components: A monumental steel loop around 13 meters high, 6 meters wide and 27 meters long. In addition, twelve cubes of the same diameter will be placed in different locations inside the building. The mighty steel signature with a total weight of 14.5 tons develops without contact to the façade between the building and Breisacher Strasse and with minimal contact to the reinforced foundation wall. "At first glance, making references to genetic engineering via steel seems paradoxical. Genetic science deals with the building blocks of human, animal and plant life and how they can be influenced by microscopic manipulation. I want to bring this scientific field, which is inaccessible to most people, closer to the viewer by not focusing on the scientifically complicated research method, but on the research object - life itself," explains the artist Robert Schad.

Research from gene to therapy

Decoding the human genome is now an integral part of medical diagnostics, for example in the case of cancer. However, it is still not clear for a large number of genes and genetic mutations whether they actually cause illness and how they can be treated. The IMITATE scientists want to close the gap between the enormous amounts of genome data and the lack of applicability at the patient's bedside and extract precisely the information that is crucial for individual patients and their treatment. To this end, they will carry out data analysis and computer modelling of genetic and epigenetic diseases, characterize tissue-specific changes using state-of-the-art imaging and - based on this - develop individual therapies.

Caption: Illustration of the artwork
Image rights: Robert Schad