From symptom-based classification
to mechanism-based precision.
Harald H. H. W. Schmidt, MD, PhD, PharmD
Physician–Pharmacologist | Coordinator, REPO4EU (Horizon Europe) | Network Medicine
Medicine Is Still Organized Around Organs. Biology Is Not.
For decades, we have named diseases after anatomy. Cardiology. Oncology. Neurology. We built departments around organs. Guidelines around symptoms. Industries around labels.
Biology does not operate via organs. It operates in networks. Diseases are not anatomical entities. They are failures of molecular interaction modules — dynamic system breakdowns.
If we want causal and curative therapy, we must redefine disease where biology actually operates. This transition is not theoretical. It is being implemented.
Selected Milestones
REPO4EU
Coordinator, €23M Horizon Europe — building a European drug repurposing infrastructure
REPO-TRIAL
Coordinator, H2020 — from in-silico network pharmacology to clinical validation
- 275 peer-reviewed publications (H-index 105)
- Patents and translational programs
- Academic leadership across Germany, USA, Australia, Netherlands