Goethe-Universität — Press releases

Jan 29 2026

16:42

The Collaborative Research Center “Treatment Expectation” focuses on risks, chances of recovery, and side-effect rates in patient education.

One in 1,000 Dies: Communicating Medical Numbers

FRANKFURT, MARBURG, ESSEN. Similar – yet not the same: Many studies show that patients often struggle to interpret numerical information in medical contexts, especially probabilities related to recovery and side effects. In a recently published Letter in the prestigious journal JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association), Professors Tobias Kube (Goethe University Frankfurt) and Winfried Rief (University of Marburg) explain which phrasing can help prevent nocebo effects in communication in outpatient and clinical settings.

Is “three out of 100” the same as 3%? Mathematically, yes – psychologically, not necessarily. While the numbers are identical, patients often perceive the two descriptions differently. This is one of the key points highlighted by Prof. Tobias Kube (Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology, Goethe University Frankfurt) and Prof. Winfried Rief, Chair of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy at the University of Marburg. Rief also serves as deputy spokesperson for the Collaborative Research Center (CRC) “Treatment Expectation,” which investigates placebo and nocebo effects; Kube is an associate member of the CRC. One of the CRC’s central research questions is how healthcare providers can strengthen placebo effects and avoid nocebo effects through medical communication. Which pitfalls should clinicians avoid when discussing risks, chances of recovery, and side-effect rates during patient consultations?

Numbers and Numeracy
Many people struggle with basic mathematical tasks. In a study of 4,637 adults in the United States, only 34 percent were able to identify the largest value in an unordered sequence of numbers. Brian Zikmund-Fisher, Professor of Health Behavior and Health Equity at the University of Michigan, reported this in JAMA in late October 2025. The situation in Germany is likely not fundamentally different. Zikmund-Fisher recommends five clear strategies for presenting numbers in an understandable way and advises against vague verbal descriptors such as “frequent,” “very rare,” or “unlikely.” Without context and comparison, such terms offer little guidance and can amplify fear as well as unintended expectation effects.

However, as Kube notes in the recent JAMA commentary, numbers in medical contexts also carry risks. What the U.S. professor did not address in his JAMA article are so-called framing effects. Kube and Rief therefore show that patients can perceive numerically identical test results and probability statements very differently depending on how they are presented.

Positive Percentages
“There is no mathematical difference between saying ‘90 percent of patients recover from the infection’ and ‘10 percent do not recover,’ but the first phrasing emphasizes the high likelihood of a favorable outcome,” explains Prof. Tobias Kube (Goethe University Frankfurt). “That is positive framing.” The first formulation tends to be reassuring, while the second can provoke anxiety. “That’s why we should aim for positive framing in clinical practice – especially when communicating potentially distressing information. In such situations, explanations such as the likelihood that a treatment will work or the probability of severe side effects should be placed in a positive context.”

The Framing Effect
This “framing effect” describes why we evaluate the same information differently depending on how it is phrased. Psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky showed in their early, pioneering work on decision-making that two statements with identical content can trigger very different emotional responses – and therefore different decisions – depending on linguistic framing. The same information can thus be experienced differently in perception, emotional state, and evaluation. This is why wording matters: the brain responds not only to content, but also strongly to emotional tone. Kube goes a step further: “Beyond positive versus negative framing, it also matters whether probabilities are presented as percentages or as frequencies.” For example, the statement “one in a hundred will die” often feels far more alarming than “one percent will die.” “When communicating medical risks using negative framing, it is often better to use percentages, because patients perceive them more abstractly. That makes it less likely they will immediately imagine themselves as the one person out of a hundred who is affected,” advises Prof. Rief (University of Marburg).

The Recommendation
Numbers are a central component of medical communication, but they should be chosen carefully with regard to framing effects. Patients who are highly anxious require special attention and expanded communication. “Highly anxious and very concerned patients should be given a detailed explanation of how these numbers are to be understood,” explains Kube.

Conclusion
“Many patients do not fully understand what a doctor has said – or, more importantly, what was meant – during consultations,” confirms neurologist Prof. Ulrike Bingel, Head of University Pain Medicine at Universitätsmedizin Essen and spokesperson for the CRC “Treatment Expectation.” She adds: “Effective health communication primarily requires time – and that time is often lacking in clinical practice.”

Especially given tight time resources in the healthcare system, Kube sees substantial potential in careful risk communication: “Positive framing costs nothing and does not require additional time in consultations – which makes it particularly easy to implement.”

“Every patient asks about risks and benefits because information provides reassurance. That’s precisely why we need to train therapists and clinicians to communicate diagnoses, treatments, and potential side effects in a way that is sensitive to expectations,” emphasizes Bingel. Current studies provide clear guidance on what matters. Patients should not be left to search for explanations online on their own, Bingel warns.

Link to the Jama Letter
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2844450#

Original Work:
Zikmund-Fisher, B. J., Thorpe, A. & Fagerlin, A. How to Communicate Medical Numbers. JAMA (2025). https://doi.org:10.1001/jama.2025.13655

Kube T, Riecke J, Heider J, Glombiewski JA, Rief W, Barsky AJ. Same same, but different: effects of likelihood framing on concerns about a medical disease in patients with somatoform disorders, major depression, and healthy people. Psychol Med. 2023 Dec;53(16):7729-7734. doi: 10.1017/S0033291723001654. Epub 2023 Jun 13. PMID: 37309182.

Collaborative Research Center 289 “Treatment Expectation”
The nationwide Collaborative Research Center (CRC/TRR 289) “Treatment Expectation”, funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG), has been investigating how patient expectations influence the effectiveness of medical treatments since 2020. The interdisciplinary research network spans the universities of Duisburg-Essen, Marburg, and Hamburg. Germany holds a leading international position in placebo and nocebo research. In May 2024, the Collaborative Research Center was awarded approximately €15 million by the DFG for a further four-year funding phase. The aim of this interdisciplinary collaboration is to understand the complex mechanisms of expectation effects – from the molecular to the systemic level – using state-of-the-art scientific methods. A central focus lies in identifying psychological and neurobiological differences between individual patients and conditions, and in examining how expectation effects can be used to optimize established pharmacological and other therapeutic approaches. To this end, around 100 researchers from medicine, psychology, and neuroscience are conducting extensive experimental and clinical studies. The overarching goal is to improve the tolerability of existing medications, enhance their effectiveness, and reduce side effects by harnessing the effects of positive expectations. The spokesperson of the research consortium, Prof. Dr. Ulrike Bingel from the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Duisburg-Essen, explains: “Patient expectations have a substantial influence on the course of diseases and the effectiveness of treatments. Our goal is to integrate scientifically grounded knowledge demonstrating the importance of expectation, context, and communication into conventional medical care.”

Further information on the current state of research and guidance for patients is available online: www.treatment-expectation.de/en.

Photos of Prof. Ulrike Bingel, Prof. Tobias Kube and Prof. Winfried Kief can be downloaded at: https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/182668122.

Contact:
Prof. Dr. Tobias Kube, Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology, Goethe University Frankfurt, Varrentrappstr. 40-42, 60486 Frankfurt. kube@psych.uni-frankfurt.de

Prof. Dr. Winfried Rief, Clinical Psychology and Psychopathology, Head of the Psycholoical Emergency Services, Marbug University, Gutenbergstraße 18, 35032 Marburg. riefw@staff.uni-marburg.de

Jan 28 2026

12:09

U.S. organization supporting prostate cancer research awards early-career prize to a scientist at Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt

Science Award: Frankfurt cancer researcher Anne Fassl receives USD 225,000 from Prostate Cancer Foundation

Junior research group leader Dr. Anne Fassl from the Department of Urology at Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt has been awarded a Young Investigator Award 2025 by the U.S.-based Prostate Cancer Foundation for her research into the interaction between genes and the immune system in advanced prostate cancer. The award includes three years of funding totaling the equivalent of EUR 195,000.

FRANKFURT. Nearly one in four cancer diagnoses in Germany involves the prostate gland. In her project funded by the Prostate Cancer Foundation, Dr. Anne Fassl is investigating a specific form of prostate carcinoma in which one copy of a particular gene – the BRCA2 gene – is defective from birth and in all cells of the body. This gene supports the repair of DNA damage.

Because the BRCA2 gene is present in two copies in every cell, it becomes critical only when an additional, acquired mutation damages the second copy as well, causing the affected cell to lose an important checkpoint for DNA repair. As a result, mutations can accumulate, eventually causing the cell to lose control over cell division. Since the immune system eliminates aged and damaged body cells, the emerging cancer cells must also evade immune surveillance in order for a tumor to develop.

In advanced prostate cancer – when the tumor has formed metastases outside the prostate – newer therapeutic approaches pursue a dual strategy. On the one hand, a protein called PARP, which is also important for DNA repair, is specifically inhibited. In tumor cells that are already pre-damaged due to the defective BRCA2 gene, this leads to such extensive DNA damage that the cells die. PARP inhibition is complemented by drugs that lift the immune system blockade imposed by tumors, known as immune checkpoint inhibitors. This is intended to enable the immune system to support tumor control.

The problem is that cells of the immune system themselves also possess only one intact copy of BRCA2. Whether this affects the response to therapy is what Fassl is investigating in her newly funded project, “Evaluating the impact of BRCA2 immune cell heterozygosity on therapeutic approaches for advanced prostate cancer." Her aim is to test various drug combinations in laboratory experiments to identify particularly promising therapeutic options.

Professor Felix Chun, Director of the Department of Urology at Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt, says: “Anne Fassl is a very talented scientist, and I congratulate her on this award. The Young Investigator Award underscores the great potential of her research on genetic alterations of the immune system in the context of prostate cancer therapy. The funding will enable Anne Fassl to further establish herself in the field of prostate cancer research, as her work is expected to make a significant contribution to gene-based, personalized treatment of people with prostate carcinoma in the coming years."

Dr. rer. nat. Anne Fassl studied biology in Leipzig and earned her doctorate at the German Cancer Research Center, Heidelberg. After postdoctoral positions at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Harvard Medical School in Boston, she was recruited from the United States to Frankfurt as a junior research group leader by the Mildred Scheel Career Center Frankfurt–Marburg and has been conducting research at the Department of Urologyat Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt since 2023. Building on her research and her postdoctoral experience at Harvard Medical School, she focuses in Frankfurt on precision medicine for hormone-driven tumors, with a particular emphasis on prostate and breast cancer.

The non-profit Prostate Cancer Foundation (PCF) is a global leader in supporting and funding prostate cancer research. Since its founding in 1993, it has provided around USD 1 billion for cutting-edge research in more than 2,000 projects at 245 leading cancer centers in 28 countries. The PCF's Young Investigator Awards program identifies promising early-career researchers and provides career and project support for innovative research ideas aimed at combating prostate cancer. By specifically promoting the next generation of leading researchers in this field, the program seeks to enable longer survival, fewer complications, and a higher quality of life for people affected by the disease worldwide.

Picture download:
https://www.uni-frankfurt.de/182499636

Caption: Dr. rer. nat. Anne Fassl, Department of Urology at Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt, receives the Prostate Cancer Foundation's Young Investigator Award. Photo: private

Further information
Dr. rer. nat. Anne Fassl
Head or Research Laboratory
Department of Urology
Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt
Tel.: +49 69 6301 - 80073
anne.fassl@unimedizin-ffm.de
https://www.uct-frankfurt.de/msnz/fellows/anne-fassl.html

Bluesky: @goetheuni.bsky.social
Linkedin: @Goethe-Universität Frankfurt @Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt @Felix KH Chun @UCT University Cancer Center Frankfurt

The Mildred Scheel Career Center (MSNZ) Frankfurt–Marburg is funded by the German Cancer Aid as one of five Centers in Germany. it's the excellence program of the MSNZ Frankfurt–Marburg provides targeted support for clinician scientists and medical scientists in cancer research at all career stages, from medical students to junior group leaders. Protected research time, dedicated research budgets, and access to excellent scientific infrastructure enable early career researchers to conduct their own projects in an internationally recognized environment. With internationally competitive, continuous career paths and attractive target positions, the MSNZ aims to create optimal conditions in basic, translational, and clinical cancer research. A particular concern of the MSNZ is promoting equal opportunities and the compatibility of family and career.

Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt, founded in 1914, is one of Germany's leading academic medical centers. It provides optimal medical care to patients in 33 clinics and clinical institutes. Its close integration of research and medicine—more than 20 research institutes are operated by Universitätsmedizin and the Faculty of Medicine—ensures the rapid translation of new findings into diagnostic and therapeutic practice. Approximately 1,300 inpatient and day-care beds are available, and numerous clinics and institutes are dedicated to specialized medical and scientific services.
Each year, around 46,000 inpatients and more than 480,000 outpatients are treated. Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt has particular interdisciplinary expertise in areas such as neuroscience, oncology, and cardiovascular medicine. It also plays a special role in supra-regional medical care as a center for organ and bone marrow transplantation, dialysis, cardiac surgery, and neurosurgery. The Liver Center is the only facility for liver transplantation in the state of Hesse. Under the Hessian Hospital Act, Universitätsmedizin Frankfurt holds a unique regional mandate for Frankfurt–Offenbach not only in cardiac surgery but also in oral and maxillofacial surgery, dermatology, and child and adolescent psychiatry. More than 8,500 employees provide round-the-clock care for patients.

Goethe University Frankfurt is a cosmopolitan workshop of the future based in the heart of Europe. Founded in 1914 by Frankfurt citizens, it resumed this tradition as a foundation university in 2008: as an autonomous citizens' university embedded in urban society, both ensuring and offering a high degree of social participation in and support for metropolitan life. With more than 40,000 students, Goethe University Frankfurt is one of Germany's largest and most research-intensive universities and one of Frankfurt's largest employers.
As an internationally oriented comprehensive university, Goethe University Frankfurt's excellent research is clustered along six interdisciplinary, interdepartmental profile areas as well as the diversity of its faculties and subjects, spanning the humanities, social sciences, natural sciences, life sciences and medicine. Together with TU Darmstadt and the University of Mainz, it makes up the Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) alliance (https://www.rhein-main-universitaeten.de/en), and is also a member of the "German U15", the association of the 15 most research-intensive German universities. Goethe University Frankfurt is the only university in the “Frankfurt Alliance" network, whose 15 other members consist of non-university research institutions in the Rhine-Main region. www.goethe-universitaet.de/en

Jan 27 2026

11:32

New study examines why people respond differently to trauma

How Experiences of Violence Affect Mental Health

Experiences of violence can leave deep and lasting marks on the victim's mental health. While some individuals remain affected for years, others recover and are able to move on. The study “Life After Violence," conducted by the universities of Frankfurt, Giessen, and Marburg, investigates why people respond so differently to traumatic experiences and which factors shape these outcomes.

FRANKFURT. With the new study “Life After Violence," researchers from the universities of Frankfurt, Giessen, and Marburg are examining how experiences of violence affect mental health – and why their psychological consequences vary so widely. The study is funded by the State of Hesse through the LOEWE program (State Initiative for the Development of Scientific and Economic Excellence), which supports cutting-edge research. The project forms part of the broader research network DYNAMIC, which brings together researchers from Frankfurt, Giessen, Marburg, and Darmstadt under the leadership of Winfried Rief and Andreas Reif. The study proposal was submitted by Regina Steil and Rolf van Dick (Goethe University Frankfurt), Christiane Hermann (University of Giessen), and Nina Alexander (University of Marburg), who also serve as the study's principal investigators.

What the Study Examines
The study focuses on the psychological challenges that can emerge after experiences of violence: how these challenges manifest in everyday life, how they change over time, and how different symptoms interact. For the first time in this form, psychological, biological, and social factors are examined together within a single integrated framework.
Participants are followed over several weeks using a combination of questionnaires, structured interviews, and biological measures (such as hair samples). In addition, participants use a specially developed smartphone app to report on their daily well-being, stressors, and protective factors. This approach provides a detailed, real-time picture of psychological experiences in everyday life following violence. The study is recruiting both individuals who have developed psychological disorders after experiencing violence and those who report only mild or transient symptoms.

Why This Matters
Violence can have profound psychological and physical consequences. Some people develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or complex PTSD, while others show remarkable resilience despite comparable experiences. The researchers aim to better understand the mechanisms and conditions that shape these different trajectories – for example, how symptoms such as sleep disturbances, tension, or self-doubt interact and influence one another over time.
Using advanced analytical methods known as dynamic psychological network models, the project seeks to develop a new, holistic understanding of trauma outcomes. In the long term, these insights may contribute to improved diagnostics and more personalized, targeted therapeutic interventions.

Participation Requirements
The study is seeking adults aged 18 to 70 who have experienced physical violence at least once in their lives (for example, physical assault, childhood sexual abuse, rape, or other forms of physical violence). Participation in the approximately four-week study phase will be compensated with up to €420. Participants will also receive a comprehensive assessment of their mental health and, if psychological disorders are identified, information on appropriate treatment options. Participants need to be fluent in German to take part.

Study Procedure
Following an initial telephone contact, a brief screening will determine eligibility for participation. The study includes three in-person appointments, with the first two sessions lasting approximately three to four hours each. These sessions involve structured interviews on traumatic experiences and psychological symptoms, as well as standardized questionnaires. At the second appointment, biological samples (saliva and hair) are collected, and participants are introduced to the smartphone app mPath, which is used for daily data collection. This is followed by a three-week phase of ecological momentary assessment (EMA), during which participants respond several times a day to short app-based questions about their current feelings, thoughts, and symptoms.
The study concludes with a one-hour final session to address remaining questions, reflect on participants' experiences, and formally complete participation.

Quote from the Study Leadership
“We want to understand in detail what happens psychologically when a person experiences physical violence and how this changes over time," explains Regina Steil, one of the study's principal investigators. “By identifying the underlying mechanisms, we aim to improve support and treatment for those affected."

Contact and further information
Study Website: https://www.dynamic-center.net/leben-nach-gewalt/
E-Mail: Lebennachgewalt@psych.uni-frankfurt.de or Lebennachgewalt@uni-giessen.de

Contacting the study's organizers (for journalists):
Assoc. Prof. Dr. Regina Steil
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy
Goethe University Frankfurt
E-Mail: steil@psych.uni-frankfurt.de

Prof. Dr. Christiane Hermann
Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Justus Liebig University Giessen
E-Mail: Christiane.Hermann@psychol.uni-giessen.de

Prof. Dr. Rolf van Dick
Department of Social Psychology
Goethe University Frankfurt
E-Mail: van.dick@psych.uni-frankfurt.de

Prof. Dr. Nina Alexander
Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
University Hospital Marburg
E-Mail: nina.alexander@uni-marburg.de

The study is funded by the DYNAMIC Center, which is supported by the Hessian Ministry for Science and Research, Art, and Culture. (LOEWE1/16/519/03/09.001(0009)/98)

Editor: Dr. Anke Sauter, Science Communication, PR & Communications Office, Theodor-W.-Adorno-Platz 1, 60323 Frankfurt, Tel. +49 (0)69 798-13066, sauter@pvw.uni-frankfurt.de

Jan 27 2026

10:54

DFG awards up to €2 million to Frankfurt University Library

Specialized Information Service (FID) Jewish Studies to Be Further Expanded

FRANKFURT. The German Research Foundation (DFG) is providing up to €2 million in funding to continue and further develop the Specialized Information Service (FID) Jewish Studies for another three years. The renewed funding will strengthen the central research infrastructure for Jewish and Israel studies, covering periods from classical antiquity to the present day. The FID has been coordinated by the Johann Christian Senckenberg University Library since 2016. Long-standing partners include Professor Kai Eckert of Mannheim University of Applied Sciences, with the Hamburg State and University Library Carl von Ossietzky joining the consortium more recently.

The FID Jewish Studies provides tailored information services to researchers at universities, research institutes, museums, libraries, and archives working on Jewish history, culture, and the State of Israel. Particular attention is given to the needs of university-based disciplines such as Judaic studies, Jewish studies, Jewish theology, Yiddish studies, and Israel studies.

A central focus of the FID's work is the acquisition and provision of specialist literature, printed sources, and databases. These services build on the internationally renowned Hebraica and Judaica collections held by the Frankfurt University Library, including one of the most significant digital collections in Jewish studies, which offers public access to key works on Jewish history and culture. Through a new cooperation, the Hamburg State and University Library – together with the FID Romance Studies based there – will assume responsibility for literature and resources relating to Judeo-Spanish as well as the history and culture of Sephardic Judaism.

Beyond collection development, the FID offers a broad range of specialized services, including research support, project guidance, publications, events, and discipline-specific data services. During the fourth funding phase (2026–2028), these offerings will be further expanded in close collaboration with academic experts to ensure their medium- and long-term sustainability. The FID also plays a key role in fostering exchange and networking within a research community that spans a wide range of thematic, methodological, and disciplinary approaches. Its central access point is the FID portal (www.jewishstudies.de), which provides access to services such as the specialized subject catalogue, the Research Navigator Jewish Studies, and JudaicaLink. A particular focus is placed on digital research infrastructures. The Linked Open Data service developed by Professor Kai Eckert processes discipline-specific datasets as Linked Open Data and makes them available via a knowledge graph. This includes the indexing of highly specialized resources and the curation of authority data – both of which are increasingly central to contemporary digital research practices.

Contact FID Jewish Studies:
Dr. Kerstin von der Krone, Johann Christian Senckenberg University Library, Tel.: +49 (69) 798 39665, E-Mail: k.vonderkrone@ub.uni-frankfurt.de

Contact for press inquiries:
Melanie Baunemann, Johann Christian Senckenberg University Library, Tel. +49 (0)152 023 506 97, E-Mail: kom@ub.uni-frankfurt.de

Jan 27 2026

10:04

Cancer cells tap into the nervous system’s power grid: Heidelberg neurologist co-founded the research field of “Cancer Neuroscience”

Pulling the Plug on Tumors: Varun Venkataramani Receives Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Early Career Award 2026

Neurologist Dr. Varun Venkataramani (36) from Heidelberg University Hospital will be awarded the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Early Career Award 2026, the Scientific Council of the Paul Ehrlich Foundation announced today. The prizewinner has fundamentally expanded our understanding of glioblastomas – particularly malignant brain tumors. They arise from glial cells, whose task is to protect and nourish nerve cells. Venkataramani discovered that glioblastomas hijack the nervous system to tap into electrical signals, which they then use to accelerate their deadly growth. A drug to interrupt this electrical activity is already being tested on patients.

FRANKFURT. Brain tumors do not consist of nerve cells. This is because mature nerve cells – with very few exceptions – have lost the ability to divide. Most brain tumors are gliomas. They are thought to originate from precursors of glial cells. In an adult brain, glial cells are about as numerous as nerve cells (approximately 100 billion), and primarily serve as structural support and nutrient providers. Glioblastomas are particularly dangerous. Even with the best available treatment options, the average survival time from diagnosis to death for patients with this type of tumor is a maximum of 18 months. Glioblastomas double in volume within a month. Their cells spread diffusely through the brain from the tumor core, migrating along nerve pathways. In doing so, they form a network that entangles the nerve cell network by connecting to other glioma cells via extremely long and thin extensions.

When Varun Venkataramani examined these extensions under an electron microscope eleven years ago as part of his medical doctoral thesis, his sharp eye was drawn to a particular section of the image: What he saw was not a connection between two tumor cells, but rather a link between a tumor cell and a nerve cell – via a structure that looked like a synapse, i.e. a classic electrochemical junction between two nerve cells. It seemed so unbelievable that both he and his doctoral advisors initially assumed it was an artifact. But Venkataramani did not give up. Through persistent effort and exceptional methodological skill, supported by his colleagues and mentors, he succeeded in experimentally proving his observation in the following years. In 2019, this work culminated in a sensational publication in the top journal Nature. Glioma cells that aim to spread actively form synaptic contacts with nerve cells. In doing so, they mimic the behavior of immature nerve cells during brain development. Through these synapses, they tap into electrical impulses from presynaptic nerve fibers, which in turn promotes their proliferation and accelerates their spread.

The electrical signals that trigger tumor growth are transmitted in the synaptic cleft between nerve cells and glioma cells, primarily through the release of the neurotransmitter glutamate. It binds to so-called AMPA receptors on the tumor cells, causing calcium ions to flow into the cells and generate an electrical current. These receptors, when overactivated, are also implicated in the development of epileptic seizures. The selective AMPA receptor blocker perampanel has been approved for the treatment of epilepsy since 2012. It could therefore also interrupt the transmission of nerve signals to tumor cells. This is why Venkataramani and his team are rapidly advancing the repurposing of this drug for the previously unapproved indication of glioblastoma. They have already demonstrated its efficacy in preclinical trials. A prospective Phase II clinical trial is currently underway.

The perampanel study marks only the beginning of what Venkataramani sees as the potential development of effective glioma therapies. Recently, his research group – where technology and therapy development go hand in hand – provided proof of concept for a gene therapy approach that could one day be used in the diagnosis and treatment of gliomas. In this procedure, only those nerve cells that are connected to tumor cells via synapses are selectively labeled with dyes. These nerve cells are then primed for programmed cell death (apoptosis). Once they undergo apoptosis, the tumor cells lose the connection that was essential for their growth. In other words, they are disconnected from the nervous system's power grid.

The field of cancer neuroscience did not exist before Venkatarami's discovery. He co-founded it and is playing a key role in its development. He sees his primary task as decoding the brain's “tumor connectome" with ever greater precision. As the field of cancer neuroscience continues to expand, it is becoming increasingly clear that interactions between the nervous system and cancer cells also promote tumor growth in other organs.

Varun Venkataramani, MD, PhD, studied human medicine at Heidelberg University from 2009 to 2016. There, he was selected for the structured doctoral program, which enables particularly gifted medical students to pursue a dual doctorate. In 2019, he earned his Dr. med., followed by a Dr. rer. nat. one year later. Since 2022, he has been leading a 15-member research group at at Heidelberg University's Medical Faculty and also works as a neurologist at the Neurological Clinic of Heidelberg University Hospital.

The prize will be awarded – together with the main prize in 2026 – on March 14, 2026, at 5 p.m. by the Chairman of the Scientific Council of the Paul Ehrlich Foundation in Frankfurt's Paulskirche.

Photos of the award winner and detailed background information “Inside the tumor's power grid" can be downloaded at: www.paul-ehrlich-stiftung.de

Further information
Press Office Paul Ehrlich Foundation
Joachim Pietzsch
Phone: +49 (0)69 36007188
Email: j.pietzsch@wissenswort.com
www.paul-ehrlich-stiftung.de

Press releases

Goethe University PR & Communication Department

One in 1,000 Dies: Communicating Medical Numbers

Science Award: Frankfurt cancer researcher Anne Fassl receives USD 225,000 from Prostate Cancer Foundation

How Experiences of Violence Affect Mental Health

Specialized Information Service (FID) Jewish Studies to Be Further Expanded

Pulling the Plug on Tumors: Varun Venkataramani Receives Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Early Career Award 2026