On June 13, 2025, the second NATON quarterly meeting of the year took place in a hybrid format as part of the annual conference of the German Society of Pathology (DGP) in Leipzig.
The meeting began with an engaging presentation by Dr. Pia Hönscheid from the University Hospital Dresden on the use of mass spectrometry for detecting previously unknown viruses and diseases, and how this technology is already being integrated into NATON.
Following a lively discussion, updates from the network were shared: in the first half of 2025, 300 autopsy datasets were entered into the autopsy register – a promising result that highlights the successful development of the network. It was also noted that there are no legal obstacles to the live launch of NAREG, and the next steps are now being initiated. Additionally, a first draft for a NATON-specific module within the Broad Consent has already been developed.
Another topic of the meeting was the importance of incorporating patient perspectives into the network and its practical implementation, as well as potential implications of the European Health Data Space (EHDS). Updates were also provided on the successful completion of the NUM 3.0 application process within the infrastructure and on the current progress of the research project eLEVATE.
The meeting concluded with an inspiring talk by Prof. Dr. Peter Boor on the newly planned COLOCATE project, which is set to be developed within the network. The project aims to advance (digital) pathology research by building a large-scale database based on non-autopsy samples.
We are very pleased with the strong participation and the engaged, productive discussions at the meeting!
