Dr. Jochen Hoffmann

By means of interdisciplinary collaboration by engineers, physicists, chemists, biologists and computer scientists, we create unique innovations for the healthcare sector — “Invented for life” in its truest sense. For example, tailored solutions for future topics which are realized on our lab-on-chip platform.

Since 2019, in my role as a Chief Expert at Bosch Research, I have been linking the topics of microfluidics and molecular diagnostics with microsystem technology to develop innovative, unconventional solutions. From the outset of my studies, I have been inspired by merging the areas referred to above. In addition to my expert and team leader tasks, I am currently working in close collaboration with the Bosch Healthcare Solutions subsidiary on future topics to develop new, ground-breaking solutions for our Vivalytic platform.

Selected publications

Please tell us what fascinates you most about research.
I am particularly attracted to the implementation of ideas which are not only of academic interest but also comply with the criteria of industrial research, such as marketability, user experience, freedom to operate, and strategic fit for Bosch. Realizing ideas which meet both demands represents a double challenge. If they turn into a success, however, their impact and significance are essentially even more far-reaching.

What makes research done at Bosch so special?
The unique opportunity for an idea (of one’s own) to be incorporated in a product. At Bosch Research, this is ensured in a very particular way by numerous experts, excellent technical equipment, and the long-term nature of projects. In addition, a high degree of research freedom is guaranteed by internally established processes and the availability of a wide range of different corporate departments that can assist you. In the area of healthcare in particular, Bosch benefits from close collaboration with renowned top clinical research institutes.

What research topics are you currently working on at Bosch?
I work on miniaturizing and automating processes in the area of clinical diagnostics which have been primarily implemented in central laboratories to date. The results are so-called lab-on-chip systems which deliver accelerated patient-related test results at molecular level. This makes it possible to have a positive influence on topics such as decentralized diagnostics, an aging society and the consequences thereof, as well as increasing costs in the healthcare system.

What are the biggest scientific challenges in your field of research?
Realizing such lab-on-chip technologies is a real challenge as correlations on the micrometer scale in the areas of fluid dynamics, microsystem technology and molecular biology need to be identified and considered. Access to the micro world is tapped by a high degree of openness and flexibility as well as interdisciplinary collaboration in the specialist areas of microsystem technology, physics, chemistry, bioinformatics, molecular biology, and medicine.

How do the results of your research become part of solutions "Invented for life"?
Our Vivalytic-platform swiftly and reliably detects infectious diseases and improves thereby, the life quality of patients decisively – this is technology “Invented for life” at its best.