Personalia

Klaus Rajewsky, who turns 90 today, has spent decades unraveling the mysteries of the immune system. As Group Leader of the Immune Regulation and Cancer lab, he continues to pursue new scientific challenges. Read our profile of Rajewsky and join us in wishing him all the best!

Starting November 2026, Cornelia Schwayer will establish a new research group at the Max Delbrück Center. She will be studying how the human liver can fully regenerate and whether the same mechanisms can be harnessed to promote regeneration in other organs.

HI-TAC’s co-leadership team is complete: Johannes Backs, a physician, is now serving as scientific director of the Helmholtz Institute – alongside Karina Yaniv. Backs studies how the heart communicates with other organs and aims to bring new drugs to patients more quickly.

Klaus Rajewsky is among this year’s winners of Emory University's Max Cooper Prize in Immunology, which recognizes scientists for their “transformative and revolutionary achievements.” The three winners will be formally honored on Sept. 29, 2026, with a $100,000 prize to be shared equally.

Since August 2026, Stefanie Seltmann has headed our new Data, Information and Publication Services department. In this interview, she explains what her team does and why our researchers, and science as a whole, stand to benefit.

Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Postdoctoral Fellowships are intended to support careers, foster research excellence, and provide international and interdisciplinary advanced training through cross-border mobility. Organoid expert Sara De Vincentiis in the Gouti lab is among this year’s winners.

As of August 15, 2026, Kirstin Bodensiek has officially taken the helm as Administrative Director of the Max Delbrück Center. She is stepping into the permanent position after leading the center on an interim basis.

The German Stem Cell Network is honoring Maike Sander with a Hilde Mangold Award. The network recognized Sander for her scientific excellence, outstanding scientific leadership, and impact as a role model for women in research.

Humboldt Research Award winner and biochemist Filip Van Petegem will spend six months as a guest researcher in Misha Kudryashev’s lab. An expert in ion channels, he will study them inside intact cells using advanced cryo-electron tomography.

Altuna Akalin has been appointed a professorship at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. The position will enable closer collaboration with clinicians and faster application of bioinformatics in clinical care.