Max Delbrück Center

Can an aging immune system be coaxed into responding to vaccination like its’ younger self? In “Nature Aging,” Sebastian Hofer, Katja Simon and colleagues discuss emerging interventions that may boost older adults’ response to vaccines. They are also recruiting volunteers for a clinical trial of their own.

During a week-long course at the Gläsernes Labor, 24 teenagers delved into genetics, immunology, and allergic disease. The course marked the beginning of a new collaboration with the Max Delbrück Center, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, the German Center for Child and Adolescent Health and others.

A team led by Simon Haas has developed a technology to decode how immune cells talk to each other – revealing how our bodies respond to infections, how miscommunication can trigger autoimmune diseases, and why some people don’t respond to immunotherapies. The study was published in “Nature Methods.”

Séverine Kunz heads the Electron Microscopy Technology Platform. She has been part of our research center for ten years and loves working with people from all over the world. Séverine takes us to Japan and recommends a novel about mysterious deaths and the joys of good food.

On July 4, Max Delbrück Center doctoral students gathered with supervisors, colleagues, friends, and family to celebrate their graduation, a milestone that was years in the making. Graduate Anita Waltho recounts her experience of the event, which brought together a community.

The first VC Day at the Max Delbrück Center brought together our budding entrepreneurs with the CLIC incubator and top venture capital working in Berlin biotechnology for a day of pitching, exchange and networking.

Lab tours, lively talks, music and awards – Summer Science Day 2025 brought the Max Delbrück Center community together like never before. In addition to food and games, this year's new format created space to spark dialogue across our diverse teams.

Starting in 2027, Captain T Cell – a Max Delbrück Center biotech spin-off – will begin the first clinical trial of its TCR-T cell therapy. This has been made possible through funding from the National Center for Tumor Diseases and close collaboration with Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin.