The Charité is one of the largest university hospitals in Europe. Here, 3700 doctors and scientists heal, do research and teach at the top international level. More than half of the German Nobel Prize winners in medicine and physiology come from the Charité, among them Emil von Behring, Robert Koch and Paul Ehrlich. The Charité also has an international reputation for excellence in training. It extends over four campuses with almost 100 clinics and institutes bundled under 17 CharitéCenters. With 13,100 employees, the Charité generates about 1.5 billion euros in sales per year and is one of the largest employers in Berlin. A dedicated HR Department and an International Office are taking care of all need of international students and scientists.

The CHARITE team is led by Prof. Sylvia Mechsner, MD (43 peer reviewed publications) who is an acclaimed clinician scientist with an excellent reputation in the field of the mechanisms of pain in endometriosis. The team is complemented by postdoctoral fellow Dr. Claudia Scheerer. The endometriosis centre is located at the Charite-Clinic Benjamin Franklin in Berlin-Steglitz. The group is structured in medical (6) and natural (2) scientists and students of 4 nationalities, and two technical assistants complete the team. The laboratories are dedicated to tissue and cell preparation with a broad spectrum on biochemical, cell, and molecular biology methods. The group is provided with several light and fluorescence microscopes, PCR and real time PCR-machines, ELISA-plate-readers, and standard molecular and biochemical equipment. Furthermore, the open structure of the Charite based research enables technology and knowledge transfer throughout individual laboratories, departments, and clinics.