The Friends of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) support the DKFZ and aim to help strengthen its position in the international arena. With the DKFZ Innovation Award, presented at this year’s annual reception, the association honors Helmut Salih, a researcher whose innovative work bridges the gap between immunological research and patient care.

Cancer researcher Dr Alexandra Niedermayer from the Ulm Children’s and Adolescents’ Clinic has been awarded the Franziska Kolb Prize, worth 8,000 euros, by the Ulm University Foundation. The 32-year-old researches aggressive forms of blood cancer and, using modern techniques, has identified an effective, personalised treatment approach.

For his research on the development of rare malignant tumors in the hereditary DICER1 tumor predisposition syndrome, Dr. Felix Kommoss has been awarded the Rudolf Virchow Prize of the German Society of Pathology. Dr. Kommoss conducts research at the Heidelberg Faculty of Medicine at Heidelberg University and serves as Senior Physician and Head of Gynecologic Pathology at the Institute of Pathology, Heidelberg University Hospital.

On Thursday, 25 June 2026, several Freiburg cancer researchers were honoured at the presentation of the CRIION Joachim Frank Prize 2026. Among them was Prof. Dr Robert Zeiser, who received the Prize for Biomedical Research. Prof. Dr Jürgen Finke, PD Dr Florian Scherer and PD Dr Elisabeth Schorb of the University Medical Center Freiburg, together with Prof. Dr Gerald Illerhaus of Stuttgart Hospital, were awarded the Prize for Clinical Medicine.

On Thursday, 25 June 2026, several Freiburg cancer researchers were honoured at the presentation of the CRIION Joachim Frank Prize 2026. Among them was Prof. Dr Robert Zeiser, who received the Prize for Biomedical Research. Prof. Dr Jürgen Finke, PD Dr Florian Scherer and PD Dr Elisabeth Schorb of the University Medical Center Freiburg, together with Prof. Dr Gerald Illerhaus of Stuttgart Hospital, were awarded the Prize for Clinical Medicine.

For the first time in 14 years, there has been a change at the top of the hospital rankings, which are published annually by the MINQ Institute in collaboration with Stern. In its very first year of existence, the Heidelberg and Mannheim University Hospitals Consortium has taken first place.

This year’s Schering Young Investigator Award has been awarded to Can Aztekin, a Max-Planck-Research Group Leader at the Friedrich Miescher Laboratory of the Max Planck Society in Tübingen, to recognize his significant work in the field of regenerative biology.

Chronic pain is among the most common and burdensome health conditions worldwide. But which processes in the nervous system cause pain to be “learned” and thus persist long term? And how can insights into the mechanisms underlying chronic pain be translated into new therapeutic approaches? These questions have been at the core of Rohini Kuner’s research for many years.

Her ground-breaking research studies on the regulation of gene activity have earned Dr Angelika Feldmann the Hella Bühler Prize for 2026, which is endowed with 100,000 euros.

Ulm University held an awards ceremony to recognise the outstanding achievements in research and teaching of its early-career researchers. The event, held at the end of April at Villa Eberhardt, focused on researchers who had received seed funding for their own research projects.

Physician and cancer researcher Mirco Julian Friedrich from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the stem cell research institute HI-STEM*, and Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) has received two awards for two independent research projects: his novel approach to preventing liver metastases and his research on T cells, which he modifies to better protect them from attacks by natural killer cells.

The nationwide OnkoAktiv network, founded at the National Center for Tumor Diseases (NCT) in Heidelberg, has been awarded the Baden-Württemberg Cancer Innovation Prize 2025. The prize recognizes OnkoAktiv for its pioneering role and groundbreaking contribution to the integration of exercise into oncological care.

A method developed at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB enables bacterial, viral, fungal, or parasitic pathogens in sepsis patients to be identified much faster than before and with the highest precision. The approach is based on high-throughput sequencing of cell-free DNA circulating in the blood and was honored with the EARTO Innovation Award in the "Impact Delivered" category on October 14,…

For his outstanding achievements in his doctorate at the interface between chemistry and biology, Jonas Wilhelm is awarded an Otto Hahn Medal 2025 by the Max Planck Society. He wrote his thesis in the department Chemical Biology of Kai Johnsson at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research. In his doctorate, Jonas Wilhelm developed a molecular tool, a biosensor that records and permanently stores biological activities at the cellular level.

Computer scientist Annika Reinke from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) has been awarded the Hector Foundation Prize 2025, endowed with €10,000, for her outstanding work in the field of AI-supported medical image analysis. She received the award for the project Metrics Reloaded, which can significantly improve the quality and reliability of AI-supported image analysis.

Dr Dr Varun Venkataramani and Dr Moritz Mall have been awarded this year’s Hella Bühler Prize for their outstanding research on the interaction between nerve and tumor cells and on tumor plasticity. The award granted by Heidelberg University goes to young researchers from the Heidelberg research location who have already drawn attention to themselves through the outstanding scientific quality of their cancer research.

Animal-free testing of chemicals and cosmetics - 07/05/2025

Human reporter skin for visualsing skin reactions

Before new cosmetics can be placed on the market, all ingredients must undergo rigorous testing for safety and efficacy. Dr. Anke Burger-Kentischer of the Fraunhofer IGB has long been at the forefront of animal-free research and has developed an innovative method to quickly and reliably test cosmetics and other chemicals without using animals. She was awarded the 2024 Hamburg Research Prize for her groundbreaking ‘reporter skin’ in vitro model.

Melanie Börries, Professor of Medical Bioinformatics at the Medical Faculty of the University of Freiburg and Director of the Institute of Medical Bioinformatics and Systems Medicine at the Medical Center – University of Freiburg, is being honoured for her pioneering work in personalised cancer therapy.

Germany's most important award for young scientists honors the development of immunotherapies against malignant brain tumors.

This year, the Brain Prize worth more than one million euros, honors pioneering work on nervous system-cancer interactions: Neurologist Frank Winkler, who researches at the Heidelberg University and at the German Cancer Research Center and treats patients with brain tumors at the Heidelberg University Hospital, discovered that nerve cells in the brain communicate with brain tumor cells. This causes the disease to progress.

The Bayer Foundation's Early Excellence in Science Award 2024 in the category of Data Science goes to Ivana Winkler of the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ). Winkler's work uncovered the unexpected effect of female reproductive capacity: the constantly recurring remodeling of the organs of the female reproductive tract during the sexual cycle leads to fibrosis and chronic inflammation over the years.

The Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz-Prize 2025 goes to Prof. Dr Robert Zeiser for his outstanding research in haematology and immunology. Zeiser’s research at the University of Freiburg and the Medical Center – University of Freiburg have led, among other things, to new types of cancer therapy that has increased survival rates and the patients’ quality of life.

NMI spin-off develops theranostics - 02/12/2024

immuneAdvice develops diagnostics to predict the efficacy of immunotherapies

Certain types of cancer are already being effectively treated using immunotherapies, though success rates can vary significantly between patients. Researchers from the Natural and Medical Sciences Institute (NMI) in Reutlingen, along with colleagues at the University of Tübingen, are working on a diagnostic approach to accompany therapy, which would rapidly assess whether the treatment is effective or requires adjustment.

The summer reception hosted by BioRegio STERN Management GmbH has once again provided a fitting backdrop for the Science2Start award ceremony. Last Thursday, at Tübingen observatory, was the 15th time that scientists and start-up founders were celebrated for outstanding ideas that a panel of experts judged to have special economic potential.

Humboldt Research Award winner Prof. Hao Yan has been conducting research at the 2nd Institute of Physics at the University of Stuttgart since May. He is regarded as one of the world's leading experts in the field of DNA nanotechnology. "My work has many points of commonality with the topics that my colleagues in Stuttgart are focusing on," says Yan. "I have therefore been cooperating with Professor Laura Na Liu's working…