Effective July 1, the Hahn-Schickard Association for Applied Research e.V. will spin off its operational business and transfer it to the newly founded Hahn-Schickard gGmbH. This nonprofit company has assumed the universal legal succession of the association and has been entered in the commercial register of the Stuttgart District Court. It is legally represented by its managing director, Dr. Karl-Peter Fritz.

FlareOn Biotech - fluorescence-guided tumour margin detection - 01/07/2026

A sensor designed to visualise residual tumour tissue during surgery

In order to safely remove tumours in the head and neck region, surgeons must be able to reliably distinguish diseased tissue from healthy tissue. FlareOn Biotech, a start-up based in Frickenhausen, has developed a biochemical sensor capable of visualising tumour cells in tissue samples directly in the operating theatre within just ten minutes. The company is now seeking partners to help bring its diagnostic platform to market.

Cancer researcher Dr Alexandra Niedermayer from the Ulm Children’s and Adolescents’ Clinic has been awarded the Franziska Kolb Prize, worth 8,000 euros, by the Ulm University Foundation. The 32-year-old researches aggressive forms of blood cancer and, using modern techniques, has identified an effective, personalised treatment approach.

Certain medicines contain compounds known as PFAS, which are causing increasing environmental harm due to their long-lasting effects. A report by the University of Freiburg, commissioned by the German Environment Agency, shows that many PFAS-based active ingredients used in medicines can be replaced by alternatives. Based on the findings of the report, doctors will in future be able to give preference to prescribing PFAS-free medicines.

For his research on the development of rare malignant tumors in the hereditary DICER1 tumor predisposition syndrome, Dr. Felix Kommoss has been awarded the Rudolf Virchow Prize of the German Society of Pathology. Dr. Kommoss conducts research at the Heidelberg Faculty of Medicine at Heidelberg University and serves as Senior Physician and Head of Gynecologic Pathology at the Institute of Pathology, Heidelberg University Hospital.

The two inter-university funding programs SEED4EU+ and 4EU+ Visiting Professorships are entering a new round of calls. With these programs, the 4EU+ European University Alliance pursues the goal of strengthening links between the eight partner universities, giving scope to new ideas and supporting inter-university projects.

On Thursday, 25 June 2026, several Freiburg cancer researchers were honoured at the presentation of the CRIION Joachim Frank Prize 2026. Among them was Prof. Dr Robert Zeiser, who received the Prize for Biomedical Research. Prof. Dr Jürgen Finke, PD Dr Florian Scherer and PD Dr Elisabeth Schorb of the University Medical Center Freiburg, together with Prof. Dr Gerald Illerhaus of Stuttgart Hospital, were awarded the Prize for Clinical Medicine.

In a virtual reality study involving zebrafish, researchers from the University of Konstanz and King’s College London have discovered that the development of the eye is influenced by what the fish see during the early stages of life – and this, in turn, alters their behaviour.

Four doctoral candidates from Heidelberg University have the opportunity to exchange ideas with outstanding scientists. They are set to take part in the 75th Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting, which is being held in Lindau from 28 June to 3 July 2026. Jana Braunger, Tim Schubert, Laura Rueda Gensini and Nathan Trausch are among around 600 young researchers who have been selected for their outstanding academic achievements.

The European Research Council (ERC) supports visionary projects in basic research through its “Advanced Grants.” This year, the Council awarded a grant to cancer researcher and physician Dieter Saur from the DKTK Munich* site, and Aurelio Teleman, a metabolism expert at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ).

Prof. Dr Fred Hamprecht from the Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing of Heidelberg University is receiving valuable funding from the ERC, which will support a project in the field of computational quantum chemistry. An ERC Advanced Grant also goes to Prof. Dr Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg, Director of the Central Institute of Mental Health and professor at the Medical Faculty Mannheim of Ruperto Carola.

Medical Center – University of Freiburg has created a new miniature animation of the beating heart. To the knowledge of Medical Center – University of Freiburg, it is the first schematic 3D animation to showcase the dynamic movement of the heart in an anatomically and temporally representative manner. It shows that the heart pushes blood into the body while simultaneously drawing blood in from the veins.

In order to further strengthen Heidelberg University as an internationally recognized location of infection research, Prof. Dr Mathias Lichterfeld has been selected for an Alexander von Humboldt Professorship endowed with 7.8 million euros. Leading international academics are granted this most valuable of German research awards to enable them to conduct long-term, cutting-edge research at German universities.

In the latest QS World University Rankings, the University of Freiburg is ranked 14th nationally. It is among the top ten German universities in three indicators. In the overall international ranking, it is ranked 245th out of more than 1,500 other universities.

Gelatin is a versatile natural material. To tailor its properties specifically to the various applications in medicine, diagnostics, and cosmetics, the Fraunhofer IGB has developed a toolbox for chemical functionalization. With the help of automated processes, the modifications can now be scaled under defined conditions, and reproducible batches of modified gelatin can be produced on a scale ranging from grams to kg for customer sampling.

The Collaborative Research Center (SFB) “High Performance Compact Magnetic Resonance” (HyPERiON) has been exploring new avenues in magnetic resonance technology since 2022. Under the leadership of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the researchers aim to develop high-performance magnetic resonance systems in a benchtop format to make them suitable for widespread use.

It goes without saying that new drug compounds should place as little strain on the heart as possible. But how can potential effects be reliably predicted? Researchers from the NMI, Hannover Medical School (project lead), the Universitat Politecnica de Valencia, and industry partners Multi Channel Systems and Foresee Biosystems are tackling this challenge in the new HEARTCORE project.

The University of Freiburg and Nagoya University are strengthening their strategic partnership through a joint doctoral programme and the Nagoya University Global Campus, which serves as a permanently staffed representative office in Freiburg.

For the first time in 14 years, there has been a change at the top of the hospital rankings, which are published annually by the MINQ Institute in collaboration with Stern. In its very first year of existence, the Heidelberg and Mannheim University Hospitals Consortium has taken first place.