10.09.2024

ERC Starting Grant for Dr. Florian Wimmers

ERC Starting Grant Awarded for Cancer and Vaccine Interaction Research

Congratulations to Dr. Florian Wimmers for securing a prestigious ERC Starting Grant!

Dr. Florian Wimmers explores how cancer treatments impact vaccine responses, aiming to improve infection prevention through innovative organoid models and AI-driven insights.

An ERC Starting Grant of 1.5 million euros was awarded to support Dr. Wimmers' groundbreaking research aimed at improving infection prevention in cancer patients. His project, OrAIOn (Organoid- and AI-based Identification of Oncology Drug-Vaccine Interactions), will run over the next five years and focuses on understanding how cancer medications affect vaccine effectiveness.

By using innovative tonsil organoid models that replicate the human immune response, Wimmers and his team aim to uncover the specific ways cancer treatments may weaken vaccine protection. Additionally, the project will harness advanced AI to create a “virtual lymph node,” allowing them to predict vaccine responses that have not yet been tested in the lab.

The results will be compiled into a comprehensive database of validated interactions between cancer medications and vaccines, with the long-term goal of enabling more precise vaccine recommendations for cancer patients and contributing to the development of more effective vaccines for all.