The institute is a non-profit public beneficiary organisation and an independent member of the Leibniz Association, located in Hamburg.

The drive towards practical applications of the results in diagnosis and treatment is reflected in numerous collaborations with clinical institutions and industry.

Associated groups: • Dynamics of Viral Structures • Quantitative and Molecular Virology • Immune Ontogeny and Viral Infections The foundation in 1948 as the "Foundation For The Research Of Spinal Polio" was made possible by two people: the generous patron Philipp Reemtsma Fürchtegott, and the neurologist Heinrich Pette.

Based on the public-private partnership the society operates for the promotion of the replacement and expansion II of the LIV and is an independent research institute for pediatric hematology and oncology.

This demonstration is an important step in the development of a cure for AIDS (hence the extensive removal or containment of HIV infection).