Peter H. Seeburg, Max Planck Institute for Medical Research, Germany

It is my strong belief that collaborative scientific research provides an ideal environment where people having a common goal, such as eradication of human diseases, form inter-personal relationships which are a prerequisite to foster respect for each other. If we could scale-up such personal relationships between people from different origins in the ‘Twin Institutes’ as outlined by ‘The Science Bridge’ initiative, I am most confident that we will not only continue to do great science but also will bring people from East and West close together for trust- and peace-building.