The Translation Alliance Lower Saxony (TRAIN) is a network of university and non-university research institutions. TRAIN pools biomedical expertise and health research infrastructure in the Hanover-Braunschweig-Göttingen region. TRAIN's objectives include establishing technology platforms to optimally promote the region's scientific infrastructure and developing joint continuing education formats with a translational focus.

The Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) has been a member of the Translation Alliance in Lower Saxony (TRAIN) since June 2025. The metrology institute is thus the eleventh partner institution in the biomedical network of university and non-university research institutions and pharmaceutical companies. With its newly established Biochemistry Division, PTB is developing new reference measurement methods for clinical parameters, including metabolites, proteins, and cells. This offers ideal opportunities for collaboration, particularly for the TRAIN business unit TRAIN-Omics.

“Together with the TRAIN partner institutions, we want to find approaches for standardizing omics data and for molecular imaging,” says Prof. Gavin O'Connor, Head of the Biochemistry Division at PTB. “We hope that this will provide important impetus for comparable results in biomedical research.”

PTB has extensive knowledge and expertise in the development of reference methods and in the implementation of quality assurance procedures and approaches for the development of metrological traceability of measurement results. According to the researchers, this is the only way to compare data over time and between different locations. This facilitates the more effective use of big data and should accelerate the implementation of personalized medicine from the research stage to routine application in patients. With its membership, PTB will contribute its expertise in precision measurement, standardization, and validation of biomedical methods, among other things. Joint projects and events will leverage synergies and build innovative bridges between basic research, clinical application, and the biotechnology industry.

The new partner is a valuable addition to the Translation Alliance and will strengthen the network. “We are delighted that PTB is joining us,” says Prof. Ulrich Kalinke, head of the TRAIN office in Hanover. “The integration of modern measurement technology and innovative quality assurance methods is a key prerequisite for successful technology transfer in biomedicine.”

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