Von Behring-Röntgen Foundation honors two DZL early-career researchers

The Von Behring-Röntgen Foundation honored outstanding early-career researchers from Gießen and Marburg during a ceremonial event at Justus Liebig University Giessen on November 25, 2025. Among the awardees were two DZL Academy researchers: Julian Better (Gießen) and Dr. Julianne Susanne Funk (Marburg). Both received a Von Behring-Röntgen Young Investigator Award, which is endowed with €10,000 since this year.

Julian Better, Clinician Scientist at Justus Liebig University Giessen and member of the DZL Academy, was recognized for his research on the role of alveolar macrophages in acute lung injury. Better demonstrated that these immune cells undergo functional reprogramming under stress: while they enhance the resolution of inflammation, they partially lose their ability to effectively combat bacterial pathogens. His findings, published in Science Immunology, offer important insights into why patients become more susceptible to bacterial secondary infections following viral illnesses and open up new avenues for therapies that modulate inflammation without weakening immune defenses.

Dr. Julianne Susanne Funk, early-career researcher at Philipps University Marburg and member of the DZL Academy, was likewise honored. Using CRISPR/Cas9 technology, she developed a method to systematically analyze more than 9,000 variants of the tumor suppressor gene TP53. Her study, published in Nature Genetics, reveals how specific mutations influence tumor growth and therapy responsiveness. Her work makes a significant contribution to advancing personalized cancer medicine and enhances the international visibility of cancer research in Marburg.

In their laudatory speeches, DZL PIs Prof. Dr. Susanne Herold (for Julian Better) and Prof. Dr. Thorsten Stiewe (for Dr. Julianne Funk) emphasized the outstanding scientific achievements of the awardees. The DZL warmly congratulates Julian Better and Julianne Funk on this important recognition and celebrates their contribution to advancing excellent translational research at the Gießen and Marburg sites.

Source: Von Behring Röntgen Stiftung: Herausragende Medizinforschung in Gießen und Marburg