17. November 2023

Outstanding Cancer Researcher Recognized Outstanding Cancer Researcher Recognized

The University of Bonn awards the Lisec Artz Prize to Dr. Simon Haas of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin

Dr. Simon Haas of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin has been awarded the Lisec Artz Prize, presented as part of the Cluster Science Days event organized by the University of Bonn’s ImmunoSensation2 Cluster of Excellence. Endowed with 10,000 euros, the Prize is competitively awarded to early-career cancer researchers on the basis of a nationwide public call for nominations conducted by the University of Bonn Foundation and the University of Bonn Faculty of Medicine. 

Award ceremony (from left): - Prize winner Dr. Simon Haas, Professor Dagmar Wachten (Deputy Chair of the University of Bonn Foundation), Professor Michael Hölzel (Oncology Spokesman for the University of Bonn Faculty of Medicine), Antonia Streit (General Manager, University of Bonn Foundation).
Award ceremony (from left): - Prize winner Dr. Simon Haas, Professor Dagmar Wachten (Deputy Chair of the University of Bonn Foundation), Professor Michael Hölzel (Oncology Spokesman for the University of Bonn Faculty of Medicine), Antonia Streit (General Manager, University of Bonn Foundation). © Photo: Volker Lannert/University of Bonn
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“The Lisec Artz Prize is a high-profile award bestowed in recognition of innovative cancer research projects. I am very pleased that this year we are recognizing Dr. Haas, whose early-career work on blood stem cells demonstrates continuous excellence,” commented Professor Bernd Weber, Dean of the University of Bonn Faculty of Medicine.

The Lisec Artz Prize competition is conducted jointly by University of Bonn Foundation and the 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. “This award is presented to honor outstanding achievement and promising research results for the advancement of cancer research,” says Professor Dagmar Wachten, Deputy Chair of the Board of Directors of University of Bonn Foundation.

How stem cells and immune cells communicate

Leukemia in many cases is caused by the degeneration of stem cells, which are therefore being targeted in research as key cells for the development of innovative early-stage therapies. Dr. Simon Haas leads a working group for the joint research activities of the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH), Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and the Max Delbrück Center, aimed at understanding how stem cells interact with immune cells. Dr. Haas’ breakthrough discovery of a previously unknown protective mechanism that prevents leukemia from developing from stem cells (and other distinguished research) earned him the Lisec Artz Prize.

“Stem cells can divide indefinitely—they are most fascinating—but many gaps remain in our knowledge about them,” Dr. Haas, commented, “We believe further gains in stem cell research will be instrumental in developing therapies that effectively intervene in early-stage pathological processes of forms of leukemia.”

Bio

Dr. Haas, the award recipient, came to Berlin in 2020 after working at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ) and in Boston, USA at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University, among other stations in his early career. He now leads a working group on “Single Cell Approaches for Personalized Medicine”—a joint research area of the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH), the Max Delbrück Center (MDC) and Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. 

Dr. Elisabeth Jurack

Communications Officer
Faculty of Medicine
University of Bonn
Phone: + 49 151 18853596
Email: e.jurack@uni-bonn.de

Antonia Streit
General Manager, University of Bonn Foundation
Endowments and Fundraising Unit
University of Bonn
Phone: +49 228 737011
Email: a.streit@uni-bonn.de
https://www.stiftung.uni-bonn.de/de

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