Kiel's CCIM: Germany's First Certified Inflammation Centre

– Joint press release of the Cluster of Excellence PMI and UKSH –

When inflammation becomes chronic, it rarely affects just one organ. Joints ache in the context of intestinal disease, skin changes accompany lung conditions, and the immune system reacts throughout the entire body. For patients, this often means a long journey between different specialist practices. In Kiel, the CCIM exists precisely to change that.

The Comprehensive Center of Inflammation Medicine (CCIM) at the University Medical Center Schleswig-Holstein (UKSH) is part of the Cluster of Excellence Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation (PMI), combining cutting-edge research with innovative patient care. With its certification as Germany's first "Interdisciplinary Inflammation Centre" by the independent certification body OnkoZert, the CCIM is now setting standards nationwide. OnkoZert assesses how closely different medical specialties cooperate, whether treatments follow harmonized standards, and how the quality of care is ensured. Certification is only granted once all these requirements are met.

Inflammation Affects the Whole Body

Chronic inflammatory diseases affect millions of people in Germany and are often associated with long, complex treatment histories. They arise when the immune system responds to infections, injuries, or misguided defence reactions. Because it functions as a networked system throughout the body, inflammatory processes frequently involve several organ systems at once. This systemic understanding of inflammation is the foundation of everything the CCIM does.

Interdisciplinary Research and Patient Care Under One Roof

The CCIM is an innovative treatment and research facility with sites at the University Medical Centre Schleswig-Holstein in Kiel and Lübeck. “With the CCIM, we pool interdisciplinary expertise across locations and create the conditions needed to bring top-level research to patients more quickly.” So says Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Jens Scholz, CEO of the University Medical Centre Schleswig-Holstein. Building integrated care structures was a central objective even during the first funding phase of Kiel's Excellence Cluster for inflammation research. When the centres were founded in 2009, they laid the groundwork for systematically establishing clinical cohorts and testing new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in everyday care. This close integration of research and clinical practice remains a core principle of the PMI Cluster of Excellence.

At the CCIMs, teams from gastroenterology, pneumology, rheumatology, and dermatology work in close collaboration. Every day, more than ten parallel specialist clinics run simultaneously, enabling coordinated care for patients across disciplinary boundaries. In weekly interdisciplinary conferences, experts discuss complex disease courses and develop individualized treatment strategies — with new scientific findings feeding directly into diagnostics and therapy.

Scientific Coordination and Systems Medicine

Scientific coordination of the Kiel centre lies with Prof. Dr. Konrad Aden, Professor of Gastroenterology and Metabolomics and Senior Physician at the Department of Internal Medicine I. He says: "Many of our patients suffer from diseases that affect multiple organ systems. Our goal is to offer them coordinated care from a single source and, at the same time, make innovative therapies available more quickly."

For patients, this means shorter pathways, aligned diagnostic and therapeutic procedures, and closely coordinated care across specialties."The CCIM exemplifies the link between top-level research and patient care in precision medicine. The certification not only makes our structures externally verifiable — it confirms that they meet the highest quality standards." This is the assessment of Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Stefan Schreiber, Director of the Department of Internal Medicine I and Speaker of the Cluster of Excellence Precision Medicine in Chronic Inflammation (PMI).

Bringing New Therapies to Patients Faster

More than 30,000 patients are treated at the CCIM in Kiel every year. Through participation in interdisciplinary clinical studies, many of them gain early access to innovative treatment approaches. As the clinical backbone of the PMI Cluster, the CCIM contributes to establishing patient cohorts for research and to evaluating new diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in everyday clinical practice.

Kiel and Lübeck are now jointly developing the Comprehensive Centers of Inflammation Medicine (CCIM) in Schleswig-Holstein into a cross-site structure for inflammation medicine. Following successful certification in Kiel, the Lübeck campus is also close to recognition. Looking ahead, this model is to be transferred to additional centres across Germany — with the aim of improving care for people with chronic inflammatory diseases on a nationwide basis.