IMPRESSIONS OF THE JUNG SYMPOSIUM 2025
Our fifth Jung Symposium of Medical Research has taken place on Friday, May 16, 2025 and has offered interested participants the opportunity to follow the presentation of this year's laureates' outstanding research results digitally via livestream as well as in presence in the Ian K. Karan auditorium of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf. We cordially thank all those involved!
You missed the event? You can find the presentations of our laureates below.
Our lectures 2025
“Personalized Immunotherapy: Developing the Best Cancer Treatment for Every Patient”
Dr med. Benjamin Ruf
The event was kicked off by Dr med. Benjamin Ruf, Research Group Leader at the Malignome, Metabolome, and Microbiome Research Center at the Faculty of Medicine at the Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, physician in training at the Department of Internal Medicine I at University Hospital of Tübingen and member of Germany's only oncology cluster of excellence, the “iFIT”. His project is dedicated to personalised cancer therapy and focuses on the question of how the body's own immune system can be used specifically against tumours. In recognition of his interesting project, the Jung Foundation presented him with the Jung Career Advancement Award. The young scientist is free to use the €210,000 accompanying the award as he sees fit in order to advance his research.
“From Immune Response to Cure: How Immunotherapy is Transforming the Lives of Cancer Patients”
Professor Wolf-Herman Fridman, MD, PhD
Then followed a lecture given by Professor Wolf-Herman Fridman, MD, PhD, Professor Emeritus of Immunology at the Cordeliers Research Centre of the Université Paris Cité. The current Professor Emeritus of Immunology at the Cordeliers Research Centre of the Université Paris Cité discovered back in the 1960s that the immune system of leukaemia patients can recognise their own tumour cells - a groundbreaking discovery that laid the foundation for modern cancer therapies. His research showed that the immune response is decisively controlled in the tumour microenvironment, i.e. directly in the tumour environment. For this life's work, the Jung Foundation awarded him the Jung Gold Medal for Medicine.
“The RNA Exosome Complex: Molecular Mechanisms of RNA Degradation in Health and Disease”
Professor Elena Conti, PhD
After a short break, Professor Elena Conti, PhD took the stage, Director at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry in Munich. She researches how cells recognise and degrade faulty messenger RNAs (mRNAs). She is particularly interested in disease-relevant mutations in these mechanisms, which she decodes using the latest methods. Her work in this field has made a decisive contribution to understanding the interplay of molecular machines. For this research, the Jung Foundation awarded her with the Jung Prize for Medicine 2025, which she splits with Prof. Dr Jörn Piel.
“Nature’s Hidden Pharmacy: New Drugs for Cancer and Antibiotic Research”
Professor Dr Jörn Piel
The event’s final speaker was Professor Dr Jörn Piel, microbiologist and head of the Bacterial Natural Products research group at the Institute of Microbiology at ETH Zurich. He researches the enormous diversity of bacteria that could not previously be cultivated in the laboratory - and therefore represent an untapped source of potential active substances. Many of these microorganisms produce bioactive substances that could be promising for new cancer drugs, antibiotics and antiviral therapies. For this, the Jung Foundation awarded him the Jung Prize for Medicine 2025, which he splits with Prof. Elena Conti, PhD.