Cochrane Evidence Synthesis Unit Germany - Sub-Unit Düsseldorf

As an evidence synthesis team at the Institute of General Practice (ifam) of the Centre for Health and Society (chs) of the Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, we specialise in planning and conducting systematic reviews and all other forms of evidence synthesis. Our team has supported the need for evidence syntheses from key national and international stakeholders, including, but not limited to, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), the German Network of University Medicine (NUM), the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF), the Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG), the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies in Germany (AWMF) and the World Health Organisation (WHO)).

Our systematic reviews have historically focused on metabolic and endocrine disorders, primarily obesity and diabetes. In recent years, however, we have expanded our work to include systematic reviews and evidence syntheses on various topics related to primary care, surgery, infectious diseases (including COVID-19 and tuberculosis), critical care and planetary health. Our methods encompass classic reviews on the effectiveness of interventions (including pair-wise and network meta-analyses), rapid reviews, prognosis reviews, prevalence and comprehensive ‘big picture’ reviews, such as scoping reviews and evidence gap maps. Our team is also involved in research on review methodology (meta-epidemiological research and methods development), and we are part of the GRADE Working Group and Cochrane Information Retrieval Group. We are committed to patient-centred care and the co-production of reviews as part of Cochrane’s Consumer Engagement and Involvement Framework.

Our evidence synthesis team has been part of Cochrane since 1999 when Prof. Michael Berger and Prof. Bernd Richter from the Department of Metabolic Diseases and Nutrition at Heinrich-Heine University in Düsseldorf founded the Cochrane Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders (CMED) review group (see more info here). From 2000 to 2024, the CMED group was one of the more than 50 Cochrane Review Groups that prepared systematic reviews on the benefits and harms of healthcare interventions. In line with Cochrane´s new model for producing evidence syntheses initiated in 2022 (the Future of Evidence Synthesis), the group was granted status as the Germany Cochrane Evidence Synthesis Unit (ESU) - Sub-Unit Düsseldorf under the leadership of Dr. Juan Franco in 2024.

Later in 2024, Dr. Maria-Inti Metzendorf became the Co-Director of the new Cochrane Planetary Health Thematic Group, which will support author teams in the development of high-quality evidence syntheses on planetary health. Other key tasks of the thematic group include priority setting, supporting Cochrane's Central Editorial Team with expertise and peer review, conducting methodological research, and fostering strategic partnerships.

Cochrane is an independent, diverse, global network of researchers, professionals, patients, carers and people interested in health. Cochrane members collaborate to produce trusted synthesised evidence, make this accessible to all people worldwide, and advocate for its use. Cochrane's vision is a world of better health for all people where decisions about health and care are informed by high-quality evidence. Cochrane´s work is internationally recognised as the benchmark for high-quality information about the effectiveness of health care.

Team details

Unit lead: Dr. Juan Franco, MD MSc (juan.franco@med.uni-duesseldorf.de)

Family physician and researcher with expertise in evidence-informed healthcare with a focus on evidence synthesis and shared-decision making. He has held several roles in Cochrane (Managing Editor, Contact Editor, Associate Centre Director), and since 2020, he has been a member of Cochrane’s Governing Board. He is also Editor-in-Chief of BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine and clinical editor for the BMJ. List of publications.

Team members (alphabetically):

Dr. Brenda Bongaerts, MSc (brenda.bongaerts@med.uni-duesseldorf.de)
Senior epidemiologist and researcher with expertise in epidemiological research methods and evidence synthesis in the field of diabetes. List of publications.
Dr. Yang Guo (yang.guo@med.uni-duesseldorf.de)
Systematic reviewer. A physician and researcher in cancer research in gastroenterology, interested in global health topics, including mental health, health equity, and neglected/rare diseases. List of publications.
Heidrun Janka, MSc, MA LIS (heidrun.janka@med.uni-duesseldorf.de)
Health Information Specialist and biologist. She has broad experience in information retrieval and co-authored several systematic reviews on different health topics and publications on information retrieval methods. List of publications.
Dr. PH Maria-Inti Metzendorf, Graduate Information Scientist, MA (maria-inti.metzendorf@med.uni-duesseldorf.de)
Co-lead of the Cochrane Planetary Health Thematic Group and Senior Public Health and Information Scientist with a keen interest in Planetary Health and Digital Health. She has advanced experience in information retrieval for evidence syntheses, is co-author of the Cochrane Handbook, member of the Scientific Advisory Council of Cochrane Germany, and Associate Editor of BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine. List of publications.
Prof. Dr. med. Bernd Richter, emeritus lead of the CMED group. Experienced clinical pharmacologist and expert in clinical epidemiology. Founder of the Cochrane Metabolic and Endocrine Disorders Group and Emeritus Coordinating Editor (profile and list of publications).

Research Assistants/Junior Systematic Reviewers

Zakariya Aqra
Murad Alhalahla
Fayola Sadiq

List of currently ongoing funded projects (in German)

Completed funded projects (in German)

Allgemeiner Notruf

Zentrale Notaufnahme

Schriftgröße

Cochrane Evidence Synthesis Unit Germany - Sub-Unit Düsseldorf