AI Expertise for the Medicine of Tomorrow

Artificial intelligence (AI) will shape the healthcare of tomorrow. It already plays an increasingly important role in many areas today—from prevention and screening to diagnosis, therapy, and aftercare. Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin is now bringing these activities together in a newly founded institute: the Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (IKIM). Its mission is to reliably integrate AI solutions into healthcare, provide evidence of their benefits, and anchor them in everyday clinical practice. The institute is headed by Prof. Alexander Meyer, who also takes on the newly created Professorship for AI in Medicine.

“In recent years, we’ve seen the challenges that AI projects face at the interface between research, clinical care, and hospital operations. They often don’t reach their goal—not because of poor algorithms, but due to missing structures, insufficient evidence, and a lack of trust,” says Prof. Alexander Meyer. “IKIM is the answer: We bring data scientists directly into the clinics, research and develop AI agents for routine operations, and build a systematic evidence base for medical AI—not only in the lab but in real clinical environments. Our goal is measurably better healthcare—which also means production-ready systems that relieve hospital staff and help patients,” emphasizes the institute’s director.

Prof. Heyo K. Kroemer, Chief Executive Officer of Charité, adds: “The transformative potential of artificial intelligence for the medicine of the future is enormous: processes will be fundamentally redesigned, diagnoses accelerated, and therapies made more precise. With this new institute, we are sending a clear signal that technological innovation can be responsibly transferred into patient-centered care. This allows us to ensure top-level treatment quality and a future-proof healthcare infrastructure.”

From basic research to patient care

The newly established institute systematically links computer science with medicine and the basic sciences, building on the already well-established collaboration with the Berlin Institute for the Foundations of Learning and Data (BIFOLD). Together, new AI methods will be developed, adapted to medical questions, and brought into clinical practice. Data scientists will become permanent members of clinical teams—just as colleagues from biochemistry and biology are today.

The IKIM focuses on:

• Application-oriented development: The institute researches and develops AI systems for patient care, hospital management, and medical research. The core focus is on agent-based solutions that automate knowledge-based processes as well as on developing and validating large AI models for intensive and preventive medicine.
• Evidence-based implementation: The introduction of AI applications in clinics is scientifically monitored through clinical studies. IKIM evaluates efficacy and safety, creating the basis for the responsible use of AI in patient care.
• Explainable AI: The institute researches methods that make AI decisions transparent and understandable for clinicians. This transparency is essential for building trust in AI systems and also fulfills regulatory requirements.
• Transfer and education: A service unit advises researchers and clinicians on AI projects. The institute also inspires new curricula and training programs to anchor AI competencies in medical education and professional development.

New projects for the medicine of the future

In addition to directing the institute, Alexander Meyer also takes on the Professorship for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine. He brings extensive experience in AI projects and has initiated important digitalization initiatives at Charité and at the German Heart Center of Charité (DHZC) in recent years: from systems for real-time prediction of postoperative complications during intensive care monitoring to current projects in AI-assisted clinical documentation and the preventive use of health data while driving using AI. As Chief Medical Information Officer of the DHZC, he continues to drive digital transformation, real-time analytics, and operational excellence—including within the major new construction project.

Building on this experience, Meyer is planning new projects to prepare Charité for the future of medicine. His goal is to develop an AI strategy for Charité together with his team and to establish the necessary structures for practical AI deployment. A key component is the digital model clinic currently being developed at the DHZC, which will serve as a testing environment for innovations.

BIFOLD–Charité Professorship for Machine Learning

Meyer is supported by Prof. Grégoire Montavon, who was recently appointed to the first BIFOLD–Charité Professorship for Machine Learning in Medicine. His research group, Explainable Machine Learning in Medicine, will be based at the IKIM. A particular focus of his work is the development of new approaches in explainable AI that can be integrated into modern machine learning models for medical diagnostics and research.

The Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine is supported by the Berlin Institute for the Foundations of Learning and Data at TU Berlin (BIFOLD), where Alexander Meyer has been a Principal Investigator since 2018. BIFOLD has been collaborating successfully with Charité for many years—including on projects involving AI in patient monitoring, pathology, data processing, and explainable AI (XAI).

Other major supporters include the German Heart Center Foundation and the Stiftung Charité, which are providing financial support for the newly created W3 Professorship for AI in Medicine. The German Heart Center Foundation aims to pave the way for intelligent, data-driven patient care in the new DHZC building. Stiftung Charité is supporting the appointment through a Recruiting Grant.

AI Expertise for the Medicine of Tomorrow: Innovation Hub in the Capital Region

With the new Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (IKIM), Charité marks another milestone for the future of healthcare. The capital region once again confirms its role as a driving force for technological innovation in healthcare and life sciences. Through the combination of excellent research, cutting-edge data science, clinical expertise, and a dynamic startup community, a unique ecosystem is created that responsibly integrates AI solutions into patient care. Interdisciplinary networks, specialized professionals, efficient technology transfer structures, and the use of disruptive technologies provide the foundation for bringing medical innovations from the Airport Region Berlin Brandenburg to the global healthcare market.

For more information on the region's economic development or support for businesses, investors, and research institutions, please contact:

Sandra Koletzki ​​​​​​ | sandra.koletzki(at)airport-region.de

(Source: Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, 11|13|2025 | “Charité and the German Heart Center Berlin (DHZC) establish the Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine”)