Stifterverband Science Prize 2024

©  Photo: Fraunhofer / Piotr Banczerowski
 

Award winning team:

Dr. Kai Sohn, head of the in-vitro diagnostics department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial and Biochemical Engineering IGB, and his network partners Prof. Dr.  Thorsten Brenner from the University Hospital Essen, Dr. Silke Grumaz and Dr. Philip Stevens from Noscendo GmbH

 

Sepsis, also known as blood poisoning, is among the most common causes of death in Germany, claiming over 85,000 lives a year. To fight it effectively, the pathogen involved must be identified as soon as possible. Working together, Dr. Kai Sohn, head of the In-vitro Diagnostics department at the Fraunhofer Institute for Interfacial Engineering and Biotechnology IGB, and his partners Prof. Thorsten Brenner from University Hospital Essen and Dr. Silke Grumaz and Dr. Philip Stevens from Noscendo GmbH have succeeded in overcoming the limits of clinical and diagnostic standards and establishing a completely new principle for detection of various pathogens.

Unlike in conventional sepsis diagnosis, in which a disease-causing organism can be identified in fewer than 30 percent of cases by way of a blood culture, their method is highly sensitive, detecting the faintest traces of invasive DNA in the patient’s blood. Their approach is a successful one: The pathogen can be identified in the blood of as many as 70 percent of the patients examined. That makes it a highly reliable, highly accurate form of diagnosis that immediately supplies helpful results in clinical settings to save people’s lives.

The jury’s rationale for the award emphasizes the “significance of forming an alliance encompassing Fraunhofer research, the university hospital, and commercial implementation.” The result is fast, dependable pathogen identification with a direct impact on hospital operations. Now approved for use by Germany’s statutory health insurers, it is already making it significantly easier to deliver targeted care to these patients.

Stifterverband is a community of around 3,500 dedicated individuals, companies and organizations from industry, science and civil society. It works to explore new approaches to education and science in order to consistently enhance the strength of innovation in society. As a major driving force, it analyzes current challenges, supports model projects and facilitates their dissemination in various networks. It networks industry, science and civil society to jointly develop new ideas and initiates political reforms. Two fields of action are the focus of its work: education and skills acquisition as well as collaborative research and innovation.

For more than 20 years, Stifterverband and Fraunhofer have been awarding this prize, which comes with 50,000 euros in prize money, on a biennial basis. This recognizes joint applied research projects of particular scientific excellence that Fraunhofer institutes are working on in collaboration with industry and/or other research organizations.

The Stifterverband