Christoph Klein’s Research on Rare Diseases and Child Participation

Christoph Klein is a Profes­sor of Pediatrics and Adoles­cent Medicine, Medical Direc­tor of the Children’s Hospi­tal at the Dr. von Hauner Children’s Hospi­tal of the Ludwig‑Maximilians‑University Munich, and a member of the Hector Fellow Academy. For many years he has been deeply commit­ted to children with rare diseases and is regarded as one of the pioneers of cell and gene therapy for pediatric blood and immune system disor­ders. The video portrait shows how he combines cutting‑edge research with clini­cal practice at the Dr. von Hauner Children’s Hospi­tal in Munich, while also champi­oning children’s rights within the health­care system.

While many condi­tions such as obesity or ADHD are well researched, rare genetic disor­ders that affect only a few children world­wide remain largely under­stud­ied. Modern gene‑technology now offers especially promis­ing oppor­tu­ni­ties to develop new treat­ment approaches. Together with his inter­dis­ci­pli­nary research team, Klein identi­fies the genetic causes, inves­ti­gates disease mecha­nisms, and creates novel, individ­u­ally tailored thera­peu­tic strategies.

However, Christoph Klein’s commit­ment goes far beyond medical research and the treat­ment of individ­ual children. As a co‑founder of the Care‑for‑Rare Founda­tion, he strives to give a voice to children with rare diseases and to raise public aware­ness of their needs. He also initi­ated the Children and Youth Research Council in Munich, aiming to embed the princi­ples of the UN Conven­tion on the Rights of the Child firmly within the health‑care system. In his view, every child has the right to be heard and to partic­i­pate in medical progress.

The Hector Fellow Academy, founded in 2013, honors outstand­ing scien­tists in the fields of engineer­ing and natural sciences, medicine and psychol­ogy with the Hector Science Award. As a member of the Academy, researchers like Christoph Klein benefit from an inter­dis­ci­pli­nary network that provides an oppor­tu­nity to exchange ideas with world-class researchers. The Academy not only fosters outstand­ing research, but also promotes young scien­tists by funding doctoral positions and award­ing the Hector Research Career Devel­op­ment Award.