Dr. Varun Venkataramani of the Faculty of Medicine at Heidelberg University and ImmunoSensation2 member Dr. Niklas Klümper of the University Hospital Bonn have been awarded the Lisec Artz Prize for their outstanding cancer research. The University of Bonn Foundation and the University of Bonn Faculty of Medicine presented the awards to the two researchers on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 at the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) as part of the Cluster Science Days event held by the ImmunoSensation² Cluster of Excellence. The prize is worth a total of 15,000 euros.
The Lisec Artz Prize is awarded bi-annually in a nationwide competition hosted by the University of Bonn Foundation, in cooperation with the Bonn Faculty of Medicine. Formed from the estate of Maria Josefine Lisec at her passing in 1972, the Lisec Artz Foundation merged into the University of Bonn Foundation in 2011. The prize winners are chosen by the University of Bonn Foundation board after receiving a recommendation by the Faculty Advisory Board.
“Advancing cancer research is of crucial importance,” emphasized Professor Bernd Weber, Dean of the Bonn Faculty of Medicine, “particularly because the disease is so prevalent and has so many complex manifestations. I am pleased at how effectively the Lisec Artz Prize calls attention to the promising work being done by early-career researchers.”
Professor Dagmar Wachten, deputy chair of the University of Bonn Foundation board, likewise underscored the significance of the prize: “The prize is awarded in recognition of outstanding achievements by young, dedicated and talented researchers. This year’s recipients, Dr. Venkataramani and Dr. Klümper, are deserving of such recognition, having made important discoveries in this field.”
Key insights for treating aggressive brain tumors
Dr. Varun Venkataramani (age 36) is a neuroscientist at the Heidelberg Faculty of Medicine and a neurologist working at the Neurology Department of Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD). His research focuses on glioblastomas, which are a highly aggressive and malignant type of brain tumor that poses one of the greatest challenges faced by modern medicine. “Glioblastomas are treatment-resistant and thus come with a poor prognosis,” explained prize recipient Dr. Venkataramani.
His main focus is on the interaction between glioblastomas and the nervous system. He discovered how tumor cells receive direct signals from nerve cells via so-called ‘malignant’ synapses. These signals stimulate tumour growth. Dr. Venkataramani’s discovery that these signals are transmitted through certain proteins, known as AMPA receptors, is therefore of great significance.
Using techniques he developed himself, the neuroscientist is investigating how this interaction changes under different therapies. “My team and I are trying to better understand the mechanisms in order to develop targeted and personalised therapies that separate the tumour from its environment,” he says. His findings have already led to initial clinical trials.
This is but one of several awards received by the young Heidelberg-based researcher for his outstanding accomplishments, who furthermore secured roughly 2.5 million euros in third-party funding for his research group in recent years.
Basis for a biomarker-based treatment concept for all tumor types
Prize recipient Dr. Niklas Klümper (age 33) is Senior Physician and working group head at the Urology and Child Urology Department of the University Hospital Bonn (UKB) and a member of the ImmunoSensation² Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bonn.
He and his team have demonstrated for the first time how a specific gene alteration—amplification of the NECTIN4 gene—serves as a reliable biomarker, i.e. a biological indicator, of the success of anti-NECTIN4 cancer therapies. “Patients evidencing this genetic change respond especially well to the therapies,” explained Dr. Klümper, who elaborated that this has been most evident with the drug enfortumab vedotin for advanced bladder cancer. These findings have already been applied for other cancer types, such as breast and lung cancer.
In view of these results, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted fast-track designation for a new drug in a move to accelerate development and testing. The active substance is currently under further study in clinical trials. “In the future, it may be possible to deploy drugs in more targeted fashion so patients benefit more rapidly from effective therapies,” said Dr. Klümper.
The prize is likewise one of several awards received by Dr. Klümper for his research. He has received funding under his faculty’s BONFOR program and has been a Fellow under the BMFTR-funded Advanced Clinician Scientist Program (ACCENT) at the Faculty of Medicine Bonn since 2023.
Contact
Department of Urology and Institute of Experimental Oncology
University Hospital Bonn
Email: niklas.kluemper@ukbonn.de
Media contact
Yasmin Kalkan
Scientific Management—Public Relations
Faculty of Medicine
University of Bonn
Phone: +49 1511 8853496
Email: yasmin.kalkan@ukbonn.de
Dr. Anke Peters
General Management
University of Bonn Foundation
University of Bonn
Phone: +49 228 737011
Email: anke.peters@uni-bonn.de
