The CSCC wants to

define best practice for patient-oriented research:

• Bridge the gap between clinical and basic research. We are transcending the barrier raised by the complexity of a syndrome not yet sufficiently understood on a molecular level. We are achieving this through close, effective collaboration between scientists and physicians, allowing results to be translated quickly from bench to bedside, e.g. in observational or interventional studies.
• Complete data on the incidence and course of sepsis at intensive care units, as well as on long-term outcomes and established rehabilitation regimes for patients who survive sepsis. This is essential because (i) there are no high-quality epidemiological data on sepsis in Germany, and (ii) systematic investigation of important consequences of sepsis is hampered by the present system, in which patients are discharged into a separate rehabilitation system.
• Improve awareness. The medical and socio-economic burden of sepsis and its sequelae are still greatly underestimated by healthcare personnel, the healthcare system, and the public in general.
• Eliminate deficits in the prevention of sepsis. Numerous studies have demonstrated the effectiveness of educational programs and implementation strategies for the proper use of antimicrobials, as well as hygiene measures for the prevention of healthcare-associated infections and the spread of multi-resistant microbes. One of the CSCC’s principal aims is to establish systematic hospital-wide structures to implement such programs.
• Prevent delays in implementing guidelines. To ensure the rapid transfer of validation studies into practice, the CSCC aims to eliminate delays in implementing evidence-based guidelines and recommendations. This applies not only to novel sepsis therapies, but also to other measures such as the appropriate use of antimicrobials.
• Improve outcome monitoring and the reproducibility of sepsis trials. Negative clinical sepsis trials have cost billions of dollars, and have disappointed not only the pharmaceutical industry, but also the hopes of innumerable clinical researchers. From that experience, we conclude that risk stratiἀcation, clinical monitoring, and rigorous characterization of patients and their clinical course might contribute to better performance in clinical sepsis studies. We are working with our partners on novel approaches to clinical studies, e.g. incorporating biomarkers.

establish an attractive environment for outstanding translational sepsis research:

• Focus sepsis research at Jena University Hospital. Sepsis occurs in nearly every medical specialty, but is not in the main focus of any of them. This fragmentation of sepsis care is particularly prominent in Germany; at Jena University Hospital (JUH), it will be consolidated by establishing a specialized academic profile. To achieve this, clinical infectiology and intensive care medicine, the main specialties that deal with sepsis both academically and clinically, will be orchestrated with several other medical fields, and supported by expertise in clinical epidemiology.
• Improve diagnostics and monitoring. Deficits in current diagnostic tools for sepsis and pathogen identification significantly hinder progress in clinical research and therapy. A centralized biobank will provide an integrated resource for all clinical studies, and increasingly for experimental studies conducted by the CSCC.
• Establish novel organizational structures in German university medicine. Prinicipal Investigators of studies and projects, an elected Board of Directors, and the CSCC members’ council might approve decisions on structural and strategic measures, such as resource allocation, pre- and post-graduate teaching activities, controlling, and self-administered activities.

develop career prospectives for qualified young researchers:

• Define manageable scopes and time demands on qualified young researchers. In addition to specific medical challenges, certain structural deficits in academic medicine in Germany also slow down progress in clinical research. Academic physicians are often torn between taking suffcient leisure time for recuperation or conducting research on weekends. They are also confronted with possible deficits in the quality of clinical care if they are too occupied by science. The CSCC intends to resolve this situation. That is a crucial step, as outdated organizational structures are incompatible with the complexity of high-quality international competitive research. One of the CSCC’s principal aims is to provide career options that motivate young scientists to enter into academic medicine.