mRNA Cancer Immunotherapies Division
Prof. Dr. Ugur Sahin
Precision immunotherapies for solid tumors combining mRNA- and DNA-based technologies with computational discovery to bring effective treatment to patients who do not yet benefit.
OUR RESEARCH
Why it matters
Immune checkpoint inhibitors and engineered T cells have delivered durable remissions, but their benefit remains limited to a minority of patients and tumor types. For most solid tumors, the immunosuppressive tumor microenvironment continues to blunt these therapies.
Overcoming this requires progress on two fronts at once: treatments that actively reshape the tumor microenvironment and engineer immune cells directly within the patient, and computational methods that capture tumor heterogeneity to predict who will respond, and why.
Our division is built around exactly this dual challenge, combining mRNA- and DNA-based technologies with a research-driving computational program, to move precision immunotherapies toward the patients who need them most, and to feed clinical and molecular insights back into the laboratory.
SAHIN LAB
Lab focus
Our research spans three closely connected lines of work: mRNA-based cancer vaccines and nanoparticle-based modulation of the tumor microenvironment; DNA-based platforms for engineering immune cells in vivo; and a dedicated computational programm that drives its own research and clinical questions.
On the experimental side, we formulate lipid nanoparticles in-house and design individualized neoantigen vaccines, alongside nanoparticle-delivered immunostimulants and in situ vaccination strategies aimed at reprogramming the tumor microenvironment. In parallel, we build DNA–lipid-nanoparticle platforms to generate CAR- and TCR-engineered T cells directly in the body, together with next-generation, cytokine-armored constructs for solid tumors.
Our computational team develops machine-learning and deep-learning models trained on patient data for immunotherapy target discovery, single-cell and spatial multi-omics integration, biomarker- and response-prediction, and decision-support tools for immunotherapy. As part of HI-TRON Mainz and the DKFZ, we work with clinical and research partners to transform patient samples and data into laboratory discoveries that translate directly back to the clinic. Our long-term aim is to integrate these strengths into truly individualized cancer immunotherapy.
Head of Division mRNA Cancer Immunotherapies
Prof. Dr. Ugur Sahin
BioNTech SE 2023, all rights reserved
[since 2023] Head of Division, HI-TRON Mainz
[since 2014] W3 Professor, University Medical Center, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
[since 2008] Co‐Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), BioNTech SE, Mainz, Germany
[2001] Co‐Founder, Ganymed Pharmaceuticals (now a subsidiary of Astellas Pharma Inc.), Mainz, Germany
[1992] PhD in Human Medicine, University of Cologne, Germany
[1984 – 1990] Degree in Medicine, University of Cologne, Germany
[since 2018] Founding Member and Chair, Scientific Management Board, Helmholtz Institute for Translational Oncology (HI‐TRON), Mainz, Germany
[since 2015] Member, American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), USA
[since 2014] Member, American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), USA
[since 2017] Acting Head, University Center for Tumor Diseases Mainz (UCT Mainz), Germany
[2008‐2016] Chairperson, Scientific Advisory Board, Ganymed Pharmaceuticals AG, Mainz, Germany (now a subsidiary of Astellas Pharma Inc., Tokyo, Japan)
[since 2004] Member, German Society for Immunology (DGfI)
[2023] Member, Orden Pour le mérite für Wissenschaften und Künste, Beauftragte der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien
[2022] Honorary Ring, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, Germany
[2022] Werner von Siemens Ring, Werner von Siemens Ring Foundation, Germany
[2022] Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, Paul Ehrlich Foundation, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
[2021] Jeantet‐Collen Prize for Translational Medicine, Louis‐Jeantet Foundation, Geneva, Switzerland (together with Özlem Türeci and Katalin Karikó)
[2021] Deutscher Zukunftspreis – the German Federal President's Award for Technology and Innovation (together with Özlem Türeci, Christoph Huber and Katalin Karikó)
[2021] German Immunology Award, German Society for Immunology (DGfI)
[2021] Inducted into the Hall of Fame for German Research, manager magazin, Hamburg, Germany
[2021] Meyenburg Prize, Meyenburg Foundation, Heidelberg, Germany
[2021] European Manager of the Year, European Business Press (EBP), Ljubljana, Slovenia
[2021] Honorary Doctorate, Faculty of Medicine, University of Cologne, Germany
[2021] Princess of Asturias Award for Technical & Scientific Research, Princess of Asturias Foundation, Oviedo, Spain
[2021] Great Cross of Merit (with star) of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
[2021] Axel Springer Award, Axel Springer SE, Berlin, Germany
[since 2021] Member of the German Academy of Sciences and Literature
[since 2021] Member, German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina
[since 2021] Member, European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO), Heidelberg, Germany
[2020] Person of the Year, Financial Times, London, UK
[2020] German Sustainability Award (DNP), German Sustainability Award Foundation
[2019] Mustafa Prize, Tehran, Iran
[2019] German Cancer Award, German Cancer Society (DKG)
[2017] Advanced Grant in Life Sciences, European Research Council (ERC)
[2012] Excellence Cluster Award for TRON Projects, German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
[2011] STEP Award, F.A.Z. BUSINESS MEDIA GmbH – the F.A.Z. publishing house, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
[since 2008] Member, Program Committee, Association for Cancer Immunotherapy (CIMT) Regulatory Research Group, Mainz, Germany
[2006, 2010] GO‐Bio Award, German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
[2005] Georges‐Köhler Prize, German Society for Immunology (DGfI)
[1997] Calogero Pagliarello Research Award, Calogero Pagliarello Foundation, Homburg, Germany
[1995] Merit Award, American Society of Oncology (ASCO), USA
[1995] Vincenz Czerny Prize, German Society of Hematology and Medical Oncology (DGHO)
HI-TRON Mainz DKFZ
AG Sahin
Obere Zahlbacherstr. 63
Building 911
55131 Mainz
Join us - internships in next-generation cancer immunotherapy
We welcome talented, motivated BSc and MSc students for internships across our wet-lab and computational teams. On the experimental side, you'll help develop next-generation immunotherapies that harness nanoparticles for tumor immunomodulation and in vivo cell engineering; on the computational side, we apply bioinformatics and AI-driven methods to decode complex molecular data from cancer patients and build tools that help physicians choose personalized treatments.
If you want to contribute to cutting-edge science at the interface of immunology, nanotechnology, and computational oncology, get in touch.
Team
Dr. Alexandra Alves Duarte
Deputy Head, Senior Scientist
Kevin De Azevedo
Bioinformatician
Florian Heeg
Technician
Luca Hoppach
Guest Bioinformatician
Dr. Thomas Kerzel-Gnaneswaran
Postdoc
Tim Schühle
PhD Student
private
Mirja Simon
Intern
Dr. Akhil Velluva
Bioinformatician
Vasilisa Vitorovic
Intern
Dr. Jannis Wißfeld
Postdoc
Selected publications
- Beck JD, Diken M, Suchan M, Streuber M, Diken E, Kolb L, Vascotto F, Peters D, Beißert T, Türeci Ö, Kreiter S, Vormehr M, Sahin U. An mRNA-encoded, long-lasting Interleukin-2 restores CD8+ T cell neoantigen immunity in MHC class I-deficient cancers. Published online 2023
- Weber D, Ibn-Salem J, Sorn P, Suchan M, Holtsträter C, Lahrmann U, Vogler I, Schmoldt K, Lang F, Schrörs B, Löwer M, Sahin U. Accurate detection of tumor-specific gene fusions reveals strongly immunogenic personal neo-antigens. Nature Biotechnology. 2022; 40 (8), 1276–1284
- Sahin U, Oehm P, Derhovanessian E, Jabulowsky RA, Vormehr M, Gold M, Maurus D, Schwarck-Kokarakis D, Kuhn AN, Omokoko T, Kranz LM, Diken M, Kreiter S, Haas H, Attig S, Rae R, Cuk K, Kemmer-Brück A, Breitkreuz A, Tolliver C, Caspar J, Quinkhardt J, Hebich L, Stein M, Hohberger A, Vogler I, Liebig I, Renken S, Sikorski J, Leierer M, Müller V, Mitzel-Rink H, Miederer M, Huber C, Grabbe S, Utikal J, Pinter A, Kaufmann R, Hassel JC, Loquai C, Türeci Ö. An RNA vaccine drives immunity in checkpoint-inhibitor-treated melanoma. Nature. 2020; 585 (7823): 107–112
- Reinhard K, Rengstl B, Oehm P, Michel K, Billmeier A, Hayduk N, Klein O, Kuna K, Ouchan Y, Wöll S, Christ E, Weber D, Suchan M, Bukur T, Birtel M, Jahndel V, Mroz K, Hobohm K, Kranz L, Diken M, Kühlcke K, Türeci Ö, Sahin U. An RNA vaccine drives expansion and efficacy of claudin-CAR-T cells against solid tumors. Science. 2020; 367: 446–453
- Sahin U, Derhovanessian E, Miller M, Kloke B-P, Simon P, Löwer M, Bukur V, Tadmor AD, Luxemburger U, Schrörs B, Omokoko T, Vormehr M, Albrecht C, Paruzynski A, Kuhn AN, Buck J, Heesch S, Schreeb KH, Müller F, Ortseifer I, Vogler I, Godehardt E, Attig S, Rae R, Breitkreuz A, Tolliver C, Suchan M, Martic G, Hohberger A, Sorn P, Diekmann J, Ciesla J, Waksmann O, Brück A-K, Witt M, Zillgen M, Rothermel A, Kasemann B, Langer D, Bolte S, Diken M, Kreiter S, Nemecek R, Gebhardt C, Grabbe S, Höller C, Utikal J, Huber C, Loquai C, Türeci Ö. Personalized RNA mutanome vaccines mobilize poly-specific therapeutic immunity against cancer. Nature. 2017; 547 (7662): 222–226
Lab News
08/2026: A new Intern joins the Sahin lab: Vasilisa Vitorovic
06/2026: A new Intern joins the Sahin lab: Mirja Simon
06/2026: Dr. José Naveja has been selected for the prestigious DKFZ Clinician Scientist Fellowship 2026 and will join the Sahin lab as a Clinician Scientist Fellow for the two years.
03/2026: New members join the Sahin lab: Tim Schühle and Luca Hoppach
02/2026: Two researchers, Osbaldo Lopez-Charcas and Bilal Unal, have been awarded the highly competitive MSCA Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellowships. They will join the lab soon.
01/2026: New members join the Sahin lab: Nele Kuhr and Kevin de Azevedo.
10/2024: Together with the Tumor Immunology and Tumor Immunotherapy Team, the Lab just obtained project funding within the highly competitive DKTK Joint Funding Call "INNOVATION 2024" on the topic of "mRNA-Based Strategies for Targeted TME Modulation and Enhanced Antitumor Immunity". They will soon start working with colleagues from Essen/Düsseldorf, Frankfurt/Mainz and Heidelberg on this project.
01/2024: A new member joins the Sahin lab: Dr. Thomas Kerzel-Gnaneswaran.
11/2023: A new member joins the Sahin lab: Dr. Akhil Velluva.
10/2023: Two new members join the Sahin lab: Costanza Zanetti and Sakshi Singh.
2023: Sahin lab starts collaboration with the NCT/DKFZ/DKTK MASTER Program.
