In 2013, the French-German Lung School was set up by the German and French Ministries of Education and Research, with the concept of initiating tandem projects between the DZL and INSERM (Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale), the national French institute of health and medical research.

The French-German Lung School is geared towards developing bilateral research activities of students and postdocs from France and Germany. A total of five projects, each with a tandem of one German and one French postdoc, is working on a joint project. This provides the young scientists the possibility, through intensive interaction, to learn new research techniques, to get to know different approaches to their scientific work and, above all, to lay the foundation for a successful career by networking with international contacts.

The projects cover topics oriented towards the research focussed by the DZL. To promote and encourage the scientific exchange and the establishment of scientific cooperations, coordinated networking activities are planned, that will serve as a forum for the postdocs. Here, the scientific Summer and Winter Schools held alternately in France and in Germany should be particularly mentioned. The focus of these events lies in the scientific discussions of subprojects in basic, translational and clinical research as well as special methods and technical workshops. Progress is expected in areas such as the development of new biomarkers, new preventative and therapeutic concepts in those disease areas covered by the DZL, and the establishment of strategic alliances with commercial partners.

The following projects will be carried out within the scope of the Lung School:

ARCN
•    Topic: Severe asthma in adults
•    PI Germany: Klaus F. Rabe, LungenClinic Grosshansdorf, Wöhrendamm 80, 22927 Großhansdorf, Germany
•    PI France:  Pascal Chanez, Département des Maladies Respiratoires, AP-HM, Laboratoire d'Immunologie INSERM CNRS U 1067, UMR 7733, Aix Marseille Université, Marseille, France

BREATH
•    Topic: Non-proteolytic functions of alpha-1 antitrypsin
•    PI Germany: Tobias Welte / Sabine Janciauskiene, Department of Respiratory Medicine, Hannover Medical School, Carl-Neuberg-Str. 1, 30625 Hannover, Germany
•    PI France: Gabriel Thabut, Service de Pneumologie B et Transplantation Pulmonaire, Hôpital Bichat, 46 rue Henri Huchard, 75018 Paris, France

CPC-M
•    Topic: Functional and morphological abnormalities of bronchiolar and alveolar epithelial cells in COPD
•    PI Germany:  Oliver Eickelberg, Comprehensive Pneumology Center, Helmholtz Center, Munich, Germany
•    PI France:  Marina Pretolani / Michel Aubier, Physiopathologie et Epidemiologie de l'Insuffisance Respiratoire INSERM U700, Université Paris-Diderot - Paris VII, Faculté de Médecine Xavier Bichat Paris VII, 16 rue Henri Huchard, 75018 Paris, France

TLRC
•    Topic: Imaging and quantitative analyses of the respiratory tract and respiratory alterations in chronic obstructive lung diseases
•    PI Germany: Hans-Ulrich Kauczor, University Clinic Heidelberg, Im Neuenheimer Feld 110, 69120 Heidelberg, Germany
•    PI France: François Laurent, Unité d'Imagerie Thoracique et Cardiovasculaire, Hôpital Cardiologique du Haut-Lévêque, Avenue de Magellan, 33604 Pessac, France

UGMLC
•    Topic: Epigenetic mechanisms in inflammatory and vascular alteration processes in pulmonary hypertension
•    PI Germany: Soni Savai Pullamsetti / Werner Seeger, Max Planck Institute for Heart and Lung Research, Parkstr. 1, 61231 Bad Nauheim, Germany
•    PI France: Frédéric Perros / Marc Humbert, INSERM Univ. Paris-Sud UMRS 999, Centre Chirurgical Marie Lannelongue, 133 avenue de la Résistance, 92350 Le Plessis Robinson, France