Groundbreaking researchDr. Varun Venkataramani, M.D., Ph.D., neurologist at Heidelberg University Hospital and winner of the 2025 Life Sciences Bridge Award, has been awarded the 2026 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize for his groundbreaking contributions to the emerging field of “Cancer Neuroscience.”
Even during his doctoral studies, Venkataramani discovered that glioblastomas form synapses with nerve cells in the brain. Through these “hijacked” synapses, the tumor cells intercept electrical impulses that accelerate their division and thus fuel malignant growth.
With the help of his team and mentors, he researched and confirmed this connection over the course of a decade, also revealing how tumor cells cunningly mimic immature brain cells to spread. His work opens up new therapeutic prospects: The first drugs designed to specifically disrupt the tumors’ electrical network are already being tested in clinical trials.
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