The Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS has completed its regular scientific evaluation with great success. The Senate of the Leibniz Association today published its statement on the report of an international group of experts who assessed the institute on site in November 2024. According to the report, BIPS has undergone outstanding professional development over the past seven years and provides excellent services at an internationally competitive level.

The experts attest to the Institute’s leading role in national and international epidemiological research. As a central location for population-based health research, BIPS achieves groundbreaking results on the basis of extensive and often self-collected data sets. The Institute translates the findings into targeted preventive measures and thus also carries out an important transfer of knowledge into politics and practice.

The Senate particularly praised the interdisciplinary orientation of BIPS – with expertise ranging from statistics and public health to medical research – as well as its close networking in national and international research projects. These include participation in the large-scale NAKO health study, leadership within the National Research Data Infrastructure for Health Data (NFDI4Health) and renewed confirmation as a WHO Collaborating Center.

The Institute is also heavily involved in the promotion of young scientists, including through a data science qualification program for doctoral students in cooperation with the University of Bremen. Against this background, the Senate of the Leibniz Association recommends that the federal and state governments continue the institutional funding of the Institute. The final decision on future funding will be made by the Joint Science Conference (GWK).

Leibniz Institutes are regularly evaluated every seven years by an external, international committee. Both written documentation and personal impressions from on-site visits are included in the evaluation. On this basis, the Senate makes a recommendation for future funding.

Editorial office: X-Press Journalistenbüro GbR

Gender note. The personal designations used in this text always refer equally to female, male and diverse persons. Double/triple references and gendered designations are avoided for the sake of better readability ected.