While hematology focused research already has a strong base in Heidelberg, further outreach to basic research faculty is critical for the long-term sustainability of the iBLOOD network. Not only because this promotes scientific innovation within the network, it is also an essential starting component from which to assemble a competitive proposal for a Cluster in the next round of the Excellence Initiative, which is obviously one of the ultimate goals in terms of guaranteeing the longevity of the network. Along these lines, an intermediate step towards achieving sustainability for the network, and increasing the probability of success in forming an Excellence Cluster, is to secure significant third party funding to support the consortium.

iBLOOD will facilitate ready access to a broad range of animal models, cell lines and biobanked human material which, in combination with the pre-existing hematology expertise and infrastructure in Heidelberg, will enable FoF1 researchers to expand their work programs to take advantage of an experimentally tractable, clinically relevant model tissue.

Next generation therapeutic approaches including genome editing in blood and precursor cells are on the edge of clinical implementation. These developments demand ever-closer links between basic researchers and clinician scientists. Strong links to ongoing clinical trials in Heidelberg will offer unique and exciting opportunities to initiate reverse translation research based on findings from these human studies. These developments also connect the field to ethical and legal scholars as well as society in general. As the iBLOOD will likely further increase the already high international visibility of hematology research in Heidelberg, we envisage that this will have a positive impact on allied FoF1 groups in terms of metrics such as international recruitment and solidifying feasibility metrics in funding applications.