The Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) conducts basic biomedical research with the aim of transferring research findings as soon as possible into clinical applications. Here the focus is on the diagnosis and treatment of diseases as well as on prevention. Research at the MDC is divided into four main areas: cardiovascular and metabolic diseases, cancer, diseases of the nervous system and systems biology.

The MDC cooperates closely with the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin and with the Berlin universities. Together with the Charité, the MDC has founded the Berlin Institute of Health (BIH).