Universitaetsklinikum Aachen
The University Hospital Aachen (German: Universitätsklinikum RWTH Aachen, www.ukaachen.de) is the university hospital of RWTH Aachen and a corporation under public law (Körperschaft des öffentlichen Rechts) as a non-profit organization owned by the state of North Rhine Westfalia. It harbours the Faculty of Medicine which is composed by 18 clinical-theoretical institutes, 30 specialized clinics and five interdisciplinary units. The number of professors at the medical faculty is currently around 120. Approximately 1,900 students are enrolled in medicine studies. Research and teaching are performed in 38 teaching and research areas. This institution actively participates in intensive research programs of national and international level, with significant scientific results and transferred knowledge.
Role within AIRIS
Within AIRIS, UKA, contributes unique expertise and extensive multimodal datasets in cardiovascular disease (CVD) and chronic kidney disease (CKD), two closely interconnected disease areas with major global health impact. UKA provides large-scale collections of kidney and heart specimen data sets, combining single-cell and single-nucleus transcriptomics, spatial transcriptomics, multiomic profiling, and longitudinal clinical follow-up data. These resources encompass more than 500 kidney biopsies covering major CKD entities and over 300 cardiac samples representing key CVD pathologies, enabling comprehensive investigation of disease mechanisms across organs. Building on its internationally recognized expertise in integrative multiomics, fibrosis research, and spatial single-cell biology, UKA has generated important insights into cellular heterogeneity, tissue remodeling, and disease-specific molecular pathways in both kidney and heart diseases. Within AIRIS, UKA leads Work Package 3, “Hypothesis Generation and Evaluation”, encompassing the development of the Hypothesis Generation Assistant, the assessment of plausibility, novelty and explainability of generated hypotheses, and the establishment of an integrated evaluation and benchmarking framework. Through iterative evaluation cycles and open benchmarking activities, UKA will ensure the scientific validity, robustness and translational relevance of AI-generated hypotheses. By combining deep biomedical expertise with advanced multimodal datasets, UKA is uniquely positioned to uncover novel disease mechanisms, identify biomarkers and therapeutic targets, and accelerate data-driven discovery in cardiovascular and kidney disease research.