Annual Report

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The HITS Annual Report 2025 – Foreword

The world around us is constantly changing. Some of these changes are perceived as turbulent and uncertain – not only in a scientific context, but also in a personal one. Rapid change creates a palpable sense of crisis that lingers. Science as an institution is not immune to this. As society has developed and grown, so has scientific research and practice. On that account, it is only natural that an ever-shifting societal landscape would also affect scientific context.

Luckily, change is an integral part of the scientific process. Theories are revised when new evidence becomes available, when advances in technology are made, or simply when research is approached differently. In 2025, a few things also changed at HITS. The year began with Kai Polsterer taking on the role of Scientific Director, replacing Tilmann Gneiting, who had filled the post during 2023 and 2024. Moreover, Rebecca Wade – supporting Polsterer – was appointed Deputy Scientific Director.

In May 2025, the contributions of both Polsterer – with “Dynaverse” – and Wade – with “SynthImmune” – were approved with two Clusters of Excellence in the Excellence Strategy of the Federal and State Governments of Germany (see Chapter 4). Participation in these Clusters is of great significance to HITS: Not only does this validate the work of our researchers, but it also promotes interdisciplinarity and facilitates cross-consortial collaboration.

Furthermore, Klaus Tschira Guest Professor Guillermo Cabrera-Vives’ (Chile) seven-month stay at HITS came to an end in March 2025. Cabrera-Vives was succeeded by Raphael Hirschi (United Kingdom), who worked together with scientists at HITS from April until the end of the year. This program highlights the increasing value of collaboration and communication within the scientific community when it comes to offering solutions to problems encountered by society at large, particularly during periods of social instability (see Chapter 6.1).

For Jackson Ryan, the 13th HITS Journalist in Residence, transparent and trustworthy scientific communication is the pillar of keeping the public informed, engaged, and educated. Ryan joined HITS in April 2025 and stayed until October, delivering an internal seminar on scientific integrity in the face of uncertainty in addition to a public talk on quality journalism at the German-American Institute (DAI) (see Chapter 4).

Language is part and parcel of science communication. Its usage and fairness are the primary focus of Vagrant Gautam, who joined HITS in September 2025 as the 3rd Independent Postdoc and has since been working closely with the Natural Language Processing group (see Chapters 2.12 and 6.2).

Natural Language Processing was also the theme of the first symposium in our new “The Future of…” series, which was held in November 2025 (see Chapter 5.4). The aim of this future-oriented event format is to establish HITS as one of the pioneers in its research areas and to continue increasing the visibility of the institute’s collective work in alignment with its motto, “Think beyond the limits!”

Without doubt, part of HITS’ mission is for its scientists to become trusted international leaders in its research areas. The year 2025 marked the 10th year in a row during which group leader Alexandros Stamatakis – working in Crete – was named one of the most-cited researchers worldwide in the biology and biochemistry field, earning him a place on Clarivate Analytics’ “Highly Cited Researchers” list (see Chapters 2.2, 4 and 10.4).

Society may change science, but science also grows alongside society and brings about changes within it. Science does not offer one simple solution to a problem; rather, it assesses situations, poses questions, and reconsiders challenges. Year after year, this is what we aim to do at HITS, and 2025 was a testament to this endeavor.

Take a look at this year’s Annual Report and find that out for yourself. Happy reading!

Dr. Gesa Schönberger, Managing Director

Dr. Kai Polsterer, Scientific Director

Download the HITS Annual Report 2025 here: