Özlem Türeci (; born 6 March 1967) is a German

physician A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...

scientist A scientist is a person who conducts Scientific method, scientific research to advance knowledge in an Branches of science, area of the natural sciences. In classical antiquity, there was no real ancient analog of a modern scientist. Instead, ...

and entrepreneur. In 2008, she co-founded the biotechnology company

BioNTech BioNTech SE ( ; or short for Biopharmaceutical New Technologies) is a German biotechnology company based in Mainz that develops and manufactures active immunotherapies for patient-specific approaches to the treatment of diseases. It develops ...

, which in 2020 developed the first

messenger RNA In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of synthesizing a protein. mRNA is created during the p ...

-based

vaccine A vaccine is a biological Dosage form, preparation that provides active acquired immunity to a particular infectious disease, infectious or cancer, malignant disease. The safety and effectiveness of vaccines has been widely studied and verifie ...

approved for use against

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Türeci has served as BioNTech's

chief medical officer Chief medical officer (CMO) is the title used in many countries for the senior government official designated head of medical services, sometimes at the national level. The post is held by a physician who serves to advise and lead a team of medical ...

since 2018. Since 2021, she has been

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of Personalized Immunotherapy at the Helmholtz Institute for Translational Oncology (HI-TRON) and

Johannes Gutenberg University The Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (german: Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz) is a public university, public research university in Mainz, Rhineland Palatinate, Germany, named after the printer Johannes Gutenberg since 1946. With approx ...

Mainz. Türeci and her spouse,

Uğur Şahin Uğur Şahin (; born 19 September 1965) is a German oncologist and immunologist. He is the CEO of BioNTech, which developed one of the major vaccines against COVID-19. His main fields of research are cancer research and immunology. Şahin's ...

, have won a number of awards.

Personal life and education

Born in

Siegen Siegen () is a city in Germany, in the south Westphalian part of North Rhine-Westphalia North Rhine-Westphalia (german: Nordrhein-Westfalen, ; li, Noordrien-Wesfale ; nds, Noordrhien-Westfalen; ksh, Noodrhing-Wäßßfaale), commonly sho ...

, West Germany in 1967, Türeci is the daughter of Turkish immigrants. Her mother was a

biologist A biologist is a scientist who conducts research in biology. Biologists are interested in studying life on Earth, whether it is an individual Cell (biology), cell, a multicellular organism, or a Community (ecology), community of Biological inter ...

. Her father, a

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

, was from

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

and worked at the Catholic hospital St. Elisabeth-Stift in Lastrup in the district of

Cloppenburg Cloppenburg (; nds, Cloppenborg; stq, Kloppenbuurich) is a town in Lower Saxony, Germany, capital of Cloppenburg District and part of Oldenburg Münsterland. It lies 38 km south-south-west of Oldenburg in the Weser-Ems region between Brem ...

. She attended, among others, the Städtisches Gymnasium in

Bad Driburg Bad Driburg () is a town and spa in Höxter (district), Höxter district in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, situated on the river Aa (Nethe), Aa and the Altenbeken–Kreiensen railway. Geography Bad Driburg lies on the eastern slopes of the Egge ...

and the

Werner-von-Siemens-Gymnasium The state school Werner-von-Siemens-Gymnasium in the district of Goslar is one of three high schools in Bad Harzburg. Pupils do not only come from Bad Harzburg, but also from the city of Vienenburg and Goslar (and the surrounding area). Pupils fr ...

Bad Harzburg Bad Harzburg (; Eastphalian: ''Bad Harzborch'') is a spa town in central Germany, in the Goslar district of Lower Saxony. It lies on the northern edge of the Harz mountains and is a recognised saltwater spa and climatic health resort. Geograph ...

. As a child, she was strongly inspired by the nuns who worked to help people at the hospital her father worked at. She studied medicine at

Saarland University Saarland University (german: Universität des Saarlandes, ) is a public research university located in Saarbrücken, the capital of the German state of Saarland. It was founded in 1948 in Homburg in co-operation with France and is organized in si ...

in Homburg and received her

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''docere'', "to teach"), doctor's degree (from Latin ''doctor'', "teacher"), or doctoral degree is an academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism ''l ...

from the Medical Faculty of

Saarland The Saarland (, ; french: Sarre ) is a state of Germany in the south west of the country. With an area of and population of 990,509 in 2018, it is the smallest German state in area apart from the city-states of Berlin, Bremen, and Hamburg, and ...

in 1992. She was a Heisenberg fellow of the

German Research Foundation The German Research Foundation (german: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft ; DFG ) is a German research funding organization, which functions as a self-governing institution for the promotion of science and research in the Federal Republic of Germ ...

. Her research focused on the identification and characterization of tumor-specific molecules and the development of

immunotherapies Immunotherapy or biological therapy is the treatment of disease by activating or suppressing the immune system. Immunotherapies designed to elicit or amplify an immune response are classified as ''activation immunotherapies,'' while immunotherap ...

against

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

. In 2002, she completed her

habilitation Habilitation is the highest university degree, or the procedure by which it is achieved, in many European countries. The candidate fulfills a university's set criteria of excellence in research, teaching and further education, usually including a ...

qualification at the

in Mainz in the field of

molecular medicine Molecular medicine is a broad field, where physical, chemical, biological, bioinformatics and medical techniques are used to describe molecular structures and mechanisms, identify fundamental molecular and genetic errors of disease, and to develop ...

. While completing her final year of studies, Türeci met her future husband, Uğur Şahin, who was working at Saarland University Hospital in Homburg. They discovered that they shared an interest in using the body's immune system to fight cancer. The couple married in 2002 and had a daughter four years later. Although Türeci and her husband became billionaires as a result of their business interests, the family continues to live modestly. Due to the proposition of the Rhineland-Palatinate parliamentary group of the SPD, she will be a voting member of the 17th Federal Assembly for the

2022 German presidential election An indirect presidential election (officially the 17th Federal Convention) was held in Germany on 13 February 2022 to elect the next President of Germany. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the high number of delegates, the meeting took place ...

. Türeci has been an honorary citizen of the state capital Mainz since March 2022.

Career

Özlem Türeci works as a medical scientist and basic researcher in the field of immunology. She researches target structures in order to develop new therapies against cancer, infectious diseases and diseases of the immune and nervous systems. One focus is on the identification and characterization of tumor-specific molecules and the development of personalized therapeutic approaches.

University Medicine Mainz

Türeci was a staff member of the in the special research area of

immunology Immunology is a branch of medicineImmunology for Medical Students, Roderick Nairn, Matthew Helbert, Mosby, 2007 and biology that covers the medical study of immune systems in humans, animals, plants and sapient species. In such we can see there ...

. Since 2002, she has been a private lecturer there in the field of

cancer immunotherapy Cancer immunotherapy (sometimes called immuno-oncology) is the stimulation of the immune system to treat cancer, improving on the immune system's natural ability to fight the disease. It is an application of the fundamental research of cancer im ...

. Together with her husband and their mentor, the immunologist Christoph Huber, she developed the concept of a "translational institute", which was realized in 2001 with the foundation of TRON, short for "translational oncology." This is a

biopharmaceutical A biopharmaceutical, also known as a biological medical product, or biologic, is any pharmaceutical drug product manufactured in, extracted from, or semisynthesized from biological sources. Different from totally synthesized pharmaceuticals, t ...

research institute A research institute, research centre, research center or research organization, is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often i ...

that develops new diagnostics and drugs for the therapy of cancer and other diseases with high unmet medical needs. Two companies later founded by Türeci and her husband are spin-offs of work done at the university in Mainz. Türeci accepted the appointment to the professorship for "Personalized Immunotherapy" at the University Medicine of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and the Helmholtz Institute "HI-TRON Mainz" founded in 2019 at the end of 2021.

Ganymed Pharmaceuticals

In 2001, Türeci and her future husband founded the company Ganymed Pharmaceuticals. This company focused on a new class of cancer drugs called ideal

monoclonal antibodies A monoclonal antibody (mAb, more rarely called moAb) is an antibody produced from a cell Lineage made by cloning a unique white blood cell. All subsequent antibodies derived this way trace back to a unique parent cell. Monoclonal antibodies ca ...

and developed zolbetuximab, which is used to treat esophageal and

gastric cancer Stomach cancer, also known as gastric cancer, is a cancer that develops from the lining of the stomach. Most cases of stomach cancers are gastric carcinomas, which can be divided into a number of subtypes, including gastric adenocarcinomas. Lymph ...

. She was chief scientific officer from 2001 to 2008 and led the company from 2008 to 2016 in the role of chief executive officer. In 2016, the company was sold to Astellas Pharma for $1.4 billion and is now a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

of that company.

BioNTech

In 2008, Türeci, her husband, and Christoph Huber founded the Mainz-based biotechnology company BioNTech, choosing a name derived from ''Biopharmaceutical New Technologies''. Türeci has been

Chief Medical Officer Chief medical officer (CMO) is the title used in many countries for the senior government official designated head of medical services, sometimes at the national level. The post is held by a physician who serves to advise and lead a team of medical ...

(CMO) of the company since 2018. As CMO, she is primarily responsible for Clinical Research and Development. From 2009 to 2018, she served as

chair A chair is a type of seat, typically designed for one person and consisting of one or more legs, a flat or slightly angled seat and a back-rest. They may be made of wood, metal, or synthetic materials, and may be padded or upholstered in vario ...

of the company's scientific

advisory board An advisory board is a body that provides non-binding strategic advice to the management of a corporation, organization, or foundation. The informal nature of an advisory board gives greater flexibility in structure and management compared to th ...

. Originally, the company focused on the development and manufacturing of active

based on

Messenger RNA In molecular biology, messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) is a single-stranded molecule of RNA that corresponds to the genetic sequence of a gene, and is read by a ribosome in the process of synthesizing a protein. mRNA is created during the p ...

(mRNA) and other technologies for a patient-specific approach to the treatment of cancer and other serious

disease A disease is a particular abnormal condition that negatively affects the structure or function of all or part of an organism, and that is not immediately due to any external injury. Diseases are often known to be medical conditions that a ...

s. Along with researchers from TRON, they hired

Katalin Karikó Katalin Karikó ( hu, Karikó Katalin, ; born 17 January 1955) is a Hungarian-American biochemist who specializes in RNA-mediated mechanisms. Her research has been the development of in vitro- transcribed mRNA for protein therapies. She co-fo ...

, who had developed a way to avoid triggering an inflammatory reaction when injecting an mRNA drug.

Project Lightspeed - Development of Covid-19 vaccine

In January 2020, Türeci's husband read an article in ''

The Lancet ''The Lancet'' is a weekly peer-reviewed general medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind. It is also the world's highest-impact academic journal. It was founded in England in 1823. The journal publishes original research articles, ...

'' medical journal regarding a

novel coronavirus Novel coronavirus (nCoV) is a provisional name given to coronaviruses of medical significance before a permanent name is decided upon. Although coronaviruses are endemic in humans and infections normally mild, such as the common cold (caused by ...

later named

. Concerned that a

pandemic A pandemic () is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has spread across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. A widespread endemic (epidemiology), endemic disease wi ...

could be coming, the couple decided to apply the

mRNA vaccine An mRNA vaccine is a type of vaccine that uses a copy of a molecule called messenger RNA (mRNA) to produce an immune response. The vaccine delivers molecules of antigen-encoding mRNA into immune cells, which use the designed mRNA as a blueprin ...

technology they had been researching for two decades to developing a vaccine against the disease, which at the time was spreading in

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

. They convinced the American pharmaceutical company

Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

, with whom they had previously begun working on an

influenza vaccine Influenza vaccines, also known as flu shots, are vaccines that protect against infection by influenza viruses. New versions of the vaccines are developed twice a year, as the influenza virus rapidly changes. While their effectiveness varies fr ...

, to help with development and distribution costs. By March 2020, they had five vaccine candidates ready to test in humans, and by November 2020, results indicated that the vaccine was more than 90% effective. The following month, the vaccine was authorized for use in

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, and the first patient was injected at a hospital in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

. As of February 2021, BioNTech was planning to produce 2 billion doses of their vaccine by the end of 2021. Türeci was responsible for the

clinical trial Clinical trials are prospective biomedical or behavioral research studies on human participants designed to answer specific questions about biomedical or behavioral interventions, including new treatments (such as novel vaccines, drugs, dietar ...

s in the development of the vaccine called BNT162b2 (the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID‑19 vaccine, sold under the brand name Comirnaty). Türeci credits the rapid success of the project in part to international collaboration, including Pfizer and the Chinese firm

Fosun Pharma Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical (Group) Co., Ltd. (trade name: Fosun Pharma) is a Chinese pharmaceutical company. It is mostly owned by Fosun International. As of 2018, the A shares of the company is a constituent of SSE 180 Index as well as it ...

. BioNTech itself has staff from 60 countries. Türeci and her husband were named ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Nik ...

People of the Year A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of property, ...

for 2020 based on their ability to produce a safe and effective vaccine for COVID-19 less than a year after the

genetic sequence A nucleic acid sequence is a succession of bases signified by a series of a set of five different letters that indicate the order of nucleotides forming alleles within a DNA (using GACT) or RNA (GACU) molecule. By convention, sequences are usua ...

of the virus was released, an achievement cited as "one of the greatest medical breakthroughs of our time." They also appeared on the cover of the American news magazine ''Time'' in January 2021.

Current initiatives

Using funds from the successful vaccine, BioNTech to pursue its original goal of creating an mRNA-based

cancer vaccine A cancer vaccine is a vaccine that either treats existing cancer or prevents development of cancer. Vaccines that treat existing cancer are known as ''therapeutic'' cancer vaccines or tumor antigen vaccines. Some of the vaccines are "autologous", ...

; Türeci remarked in March 2021 that the company had several vaccines, with the expectation of offering them to patients within 2 years. Ideally, they will be able to design tailor-made therapies for individual patients. So far, they have treated over 440 patients with 17 types of tumors. In addition, BioNTech is working on an mRNA vaccine to prevent malaria and investigating the production of vaccines in Africa.

Other

Türeci has filed more than 500 international

patent A patent is a type of intellectual property that gives its owner the legal right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention for a limited period of time in exchange for publishing an enabling disclosure of the invention."A p ...

applications and published more than 110 articles in peer-reviewed scientific journals. She is internationally active as a

lecturer Lecturer is an List of academic ranks, academic rank within many universities, though the meaning of the term varies somewhat from country to country. It generally denotes an academic expert who is hired to teach on a full- or part-time basis. T ...

Business associations

* German Top Research Cluster for Individualized Immune Intervention (Ci3) of the

German Federal Ministry of Education and Research The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (german: link=no, Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung, ), abbreviated BMBF, is a cabinet-level ministry of Germany. It is headquartered in Bonn, with an office in Berlin. The Ministry provi ...

: co-founder and chair since 2011 *Association for Cancer Immunotherapy (CIMT), the largest European association for

: president since 2019. * Member of the

American Society of Clinical Oncology The American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) is a professional organization representing physicians of all oncology sub-specialties who care for people with cancer. Founded in 1964 by Fred Ansfield, Harry Bisel, Herman Freckman, Arnoldus G ...

(ASCO), the

American Association for Cancer Research The American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is the world's oldest and largest professional association related to cancer research. Based in Philadelphia, the AACR focuses on all aspects of cancer research, including basic, clinical, and t ...

(AACR), the , and the .

Publications (selection)

* * * * *

Recognition

Awards

* 1995: Vincenz Czerny Prize of the * 1997: Calogero Paglierello Research Award * 2005: of the * 2020:

The National German Sustainability Award The National German Sustainability Award was established in 2008 to encourage the acceptance of social and ecological responsibility and to identify role models in the area of sustainability. The award is endorsed by the German Federal Government ...

* 2020:

Financial Times Person of the Year The British business newspaper ''Financial Times'' each year nominates a "Person of the Year" to the person the newspaper has considered has demonstrated considerable influence in a given year. There appear to have been a number of instances (197 ...

(with Uğur Şahin) * 2021: Axel Springer Award (with Uğur Şahin) * 2021:

Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany The Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (german: Verdienstorden der Bundesrepublik Deutschland, or , BVO) is the only federal decoration of Germany. It is awarded for special achievements in political, economic, cultural, intellect ...

* 2021:

Karl Heinz Beckurts Karl Heinz Beckurts (born 16 May 1930 in Rheydt; murdered 9 July 1986 in Straßlach near Munich) was a German physicist and research manager. With Karl Wirtz, he wrote a textbook on neutron physics. He was co-editor of the journal '' Nukleonik''. ...

Prize * 2021:

Princess of Asturias Award The Princess of Asturias Awards ( es, Premios Princesa de Asturias, links=no, ast, Premios Princesa d'Asturies, links=no), formerly the Prince of Asturias Awards from 1981 to 2014 ( es, Premios Príncipe de Asturias, links=no), are a series of a ...

in the category Technical and Scientific Research (with Uğur Şahin and five others). * 2021:

Aydın Doğan Aydın Doğan (born 15 April 1936) is a Turkish business magnate and investor. He is the founder of Doğan Holding, one of Turkey's largest conglomerates. Biography Born in 1936 as a member of a well-known family in Kelkit. Doğan went to elem ...

Award (with Uğur Şahin) * 2021:

William b. Coley Award The William B. Coley Award for Distinguished Research in Basic and Tumor Immunology is presented annually by the Cancer Research Institute, to scientists who have made outstanding achievements in the fields of basic and tumor immunology and whose w ...

* 2021:

German Future Prize The German Future Prize award is considered one of the most prestigious conferred for science and innovation Innovation is the practical implementation of ideas that result in the introduction of new goods or services or improvement in offer ...

* 2021: Empress Theophano Prize * 2021: Honorary Doctorate from the Faculty of Medicine of the

University of Cologne The University of Cologne (german: Universität zu Köln) is a university in Cologne, Germany. It was established in the year 1388 and is one of the most prestigious and research intensive universities in Germany. It was the sixth university to ...

(with Uğur Şahin) * 2022:

Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize The Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize is an annual award bestowed by the since 1952 for investigations in medicine. It carries a prize money of 120,000 Euro. The prize awarding ceremony is traditionally held on March 14, the birthday of N ...

* 2022:

Warren Alpert Foundation Prize The Warren Alpert Foundation Prize is awarded annually to scientist(s) whose scientific achievements have led to the prevention, cure or treatment of human diseases or disorders, and/or whose research constitutes a seminal scientific finding that ho ...

* 2022: Honorary doctorate from

Philipps-Universität Marburg The Philipps University of Marburg (german: Philipps-Universität Marburg) was founded in 1527 by Philip I, Landgrave of Hesse, which makes it one of Germany's oldest universities and the oldest still operating Protestant university in the wor ...

(with Uğur Şahin) * 2022: Werner-von-Siemens-Ring (with Uğur Şahin and three others) * 2022: Louis Jeantet Prize * 2022:

Novo Nordisk Foundation The Novo Nordisk Foundation is an international enterprise foundation focusing on medical treatment and research. In 2021, the foundation had a net worth of $93.73 billion (697 billion DKK),Novo Nordisk Foundation - Annual report 2021: https:/ ...

Prize (with Uğur Şahin and two others) * 2022:

Order of Merit of Rhineland-Palatinate The Order of Merit of Rhineland-Palatinate (german: Verdienstorden des Landes Rheinland-Pfalz) is a civil order of merit, of the German State of Rhineland-Palatinate. The order is presented for outstanding service to the state and people of Rhinela ...

(with Uğur Şahin) * 2022:

Honorary citizenship Honorary citizenship is a status bestowed by a city or other government on a foreign or native individual whom it considers to be especially admirable or otherwise worthy of the distinction. The honour usually is symbolic and does not confer an ...

of Mainz (with Uğur Şahin and Christoph Huber) * 2022: Honorary doctorate from

University of Amsterdam The University of Amsterdam (abbreviated as UvA, nl, Universiteit van Amsterdam) is a public research university located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The UvA is one of two large, publicly funded research universities in the city, the other being ...

(with Uğur Şahin) * 2022: Honorary doctorate from

University of Antwerp The University of Antwerp ( nl, Universiteit Antwerpen) is a major Belgian university located in the city of Antwerp. The official abbreviation is ''UA'', but ''UAntwerpen'' is more recently used. The University of Antwerp has about 20,000 stud ...

(with Uğur Şahin)

References

External links

* *
TED Talk Interview of Özlem Türeci and Uğur Şahin by Chris Anderson, August 2021
{{DEFAULTSORT:Türeci, Özlem 1967 births Living people People from Cloppenburg (district) Saarland University alumni German immunologists German billionaires German chief executives German people of Turkish descent Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz faculty BioNTech Knights Commander of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Werner von Siemens Ring laureates