On 4 November 2021, the Future Medicine Round Table took place in Studio 14, the rbb roof lounge, and was broadcasted live. After opening remarks by Prof. Christopher Baum, Chair of the BIH Board of Directors and Chief Translational Research Officer of Charité, and Stephan Casdorff, Editor-in-Chief of the Berlin daily Der Tagesspiegel, the audience was given illuminating insights into the “new” daily routines of young scientists. In his following keynote speech, Dr. Michael May, Vice President and Medical Director of Bristol Myers Squibb Germany, presented three key arguments regarding the question “Are we prepared for the next pandemic?”. In the main part of the virtual event, Prof. Christof von Kalle, head of the BIH-Charité Clinical Study Center; Prof. Professor Veronika von Messling, Director-General for Life Sciences at the BMBF; and Prof. Leif Erik Sander, Professor of Immunology of Infectious Diseases & Vaccinology at Charité; explored this question in depth, especially in light of the fact that the next pandemic we encounter will be the currently approaching fourth wave of the coronavirus pandemic. The panel discussion was preceded and followed by screenings of short films in which scientists from various fields presented their most recent findings and innovations in SARS-CoV-2 research. Dr. Oliver Morgan, Director of the Health Emergency Information and Risk Assessment Department in the WHO Health Emergencies Program, concluded the event with a keynote address that put the issue of pandemic preparedness in a global perspective. The Future Medicine Round Table 2021 was moderated by political correspondent Michaela Küfner.
