HMC Project Kick-Off: MIRO-LLMs

27.01.2026

The MIRO-LLMs project officially launched with a kickoff meeting on 20 January 2026 bringing together partners from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the Max Delbrück Center (MDC), and the HMC Hub Health.

Funded by the Helmholtz Metadata Collaboration (HMC), the project aims to advance FAIR data practices and semantic interoperability in radiation oncology and microbiome research. During the meeting, the consortium presented its vision, key objectives, and overall methodological approach.

A central focus of the discussion was the role of the microbiome. Evidence suggests that it can significantly influence how patients respond to radiotherapy, while at the same time patients with similar tumor characteristics often exhibit very different clinical outcomes.

To address this challenge, MIRO-LLMs will develop a cross-domain semantic infrastructure based on ontologies and knowledge graphs, integrating data from both fields. Large language models (LLMs) will enable intuitive access to this integrated knowledge by translating natural language questions into SPARQL queries.

The kickoff also provided an overview of the project structure, work packages, timeline, and expected deliverables. DKFZ contributes expertise in radiation oncology, semantic web technologies, and data infrastructures, while MDC brings strengths in microbiome research, bioinformatics, and LLM development.

The meeting concluded with a discussion of the next steps, including reviewing available datasets, clarifying data access procedures, and establishing regular coordination meetings to ensure steady progress.

MIRO-LLMs starts with a clear vision – we look forward to following its progress towards a more connected and data-driven research landscape.