—Prof. Dr. Kaan Boztug from the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) receives the Novartis Prize for Therapy-Relevant Immunological Research 2025. The expert in rare diseases of the immune system and blood formation conducted most of the research work that has now been honored in Vienna. His work was supported by an ERC Starting Grant (ImmunoCore, 2012-2018) and an ERC Consolidator Grant (iDysChart, 2019-2025), among others. The science prize, worth 10,000 € is divided into two parts this time and also goes to Prof. Dr. Evelyn Ullrich.
—Activating the body's antiviral defense system: A novel RIG-I ligand developed at the Medical Faculty of the University of Bonn and the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) helps the body to recognize and fight off certain viruses at an early stage. This molecular structure has potential for the prevention and treatment of viral infections. Based on the research results, there are now plans to develop and market an antiviral nasal spray to protect against viral respiratory infections.
—Three days of scientific exchange, workshops, and new impulses: Until July 2, 2025, members of the Bonn-Cumming Host-Directed Pandemic Therapeutics Program are gathered at University Hospital Bonn (UKB) for a symposium to reflect on the current state of their research and discuss further steps. The joint program of the Cumming Global Centre for Pandemic Therapeutics at the University of Melbourne and of the University of Bonn aims to combat future pandemics with novel therapeutics.
—Children born to obese mothers are at higher risk of developing metabolic disorders, even if they follow a healthy diet themselves. A new study from the group of Elvira Mass at the University of Bonn offers an explanation for this phenomenon. In obese mice, certain cells in the embryo’s liver are reprogrammed during pregnancy. This leads to long-term changes in the offspring’s metabolism. The researchers believe that these findings could also be relevant for humans. The study has now been published in the journal Nature.
—PD Dr. Niklas Klümper was honored with the prestigious Johann-Georg-Zimmermann Research Prize. The €10,000 award is presented annually to young cancer researchers for their current scientific contributions.
—The Bonn Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation will be funded for further seven years as part of the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments. The aim of the new funding period, which begins on January 1, 2026, is to research immune diversity: the structural, functional and dynamic diversity of the immune system. Involved are the University of Bonn, the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE). The funding amounts to around 50 million euros.
—The human immune system is diverse on both genotypic and phenotypic level. This diversity is crucial for a robust and adaptable immune response. But our immune systems also differ fundamentally depending on our sex, age, and the environmental influences to which we are exposed. Accordingly, immune diversity was at the core of this years event, celebrating the anual "Day of Immunology". More than 30 ImmunoSensation scientists were on hand in the Bonn city center, to discuss current immunological research with the public.
—Patients with spastic paraplegia type 15 develop movement disorders during adolescence that may ultimately require the use of a wheelchair. In the early stages of this rare hereditary disease the brain appears to play a major role by over-activating the immune system, as shown by a recent study published in the Journal of Experimental Medicine. The study was led by researchers at the University of Bonn and the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE). These findings could also be relevant for Alzheimer's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions.
—People with the hereditary disease familial adenomatous polyposis (FAP) have a greatly increased risk of developing a malignant tumor of the duodenum. Researchers at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and the Cluster of Excellence ImmunoSensation² at the University of Bonn have now discovered a mechanism in the local immune system that can drive the development of cancer. They see this as a promising new approach to preventing duodenal carcinoma in people with FAP. The results have now been published in the journal "Nature Communications".
