José Pedro Friedmann Angeli, Professor of Translational Cell Biology in Würzburg, has been awarded the prize in the "Experimental Research" category - together with his colleague Professor Marcus Conrad (Helmholtz Munich).
The German Cancer Prize (Deutscher Krebspreis), awarded by the German Cancer Society and the German Cancer Foundation, is one of the most prestigious distinctions in oncology. It is presented annually in the categories "Translational Research", "Clinical Research", "Experimental Research" and "Health Services Research".
For Friedmann Angeli, Professor of Translational Cell Biology at the Rudolf Virchow Center for Integrative and Translational Bioimaging at Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU), the honour represents further recognition of his outstanding work. In 2023, he was awarded a Consolidator Grant from the European Research Council (ERC), followed by a Proof of Concept Grant in 2025. In addition, the JMU researcher has regularly been included in the list of Highly Cited Researchers since 2021.
Research on ferroptosis
José Pedro Friedmann Angeli and Marcus Conrad have jointly carried out pioneering work in the discovery and characterisation of ferroptosis, a form of programmed cell death that has only come under more intensive investigation in recent years. It is triggered by iron-dependent oxidative damage in the cell membrane. As many tumours - particularly highly aggressive, therapy-resistant ones - are sensitive to this mechanism, ferroptosis is considered a promising approach for new therapies.
"I am very pleased to receive the German Cancer Award. This recognition means a great deal to me because it honors not only our work on ferroptosis, but also the long-standing and highly successful partnership with Marcus Conrad. Many of the key advances in this field have grown out of this close collaboration," says Friedmann Angeli.
Through their respective research, Marcus Conrad and José Pedro Friedmann Angeli have generated complementary insights into the emerging field of ferroptosis. While Conrad's group provided the first evidence that the loss of the enzyme glutathione peroxidase 4 (GPX4) triggers this new form of non-apoptotic cell death, Friedmann Angeli had already been working on the biochemistry of lipid peroxidation in his native Brazil. Their shared scientific interests ultimately brought them together and laid the foundation for a long-standing and highly successful collaboration, which has made a significant contribution to uncovering the molecular mechanisms of ferroptosis.
Together, the researchers identified key factors that determine how sensitive tumour cells are to ferroptosis or how they can protect themselves against it.
Building on their findings, Conrad and Friedmann Angeli have also jointly developed compounds that harness this cell death mechanism for therapeutic purposes. Initial preclinical studies in mouse models have already shown that these drugs can inhibit tumour growth and prevent the formation of metastases. Their discoveries thus open up new perspectives for the treatment of tumours that are difficult to treat.
The German Cancer Prize
The German Cancer Prize has been awarded annually since 1986 for outstanding work in German-speaking countries:
- in experimental oncological basic research (experimental category),
- in translational research (transfer of experimental findings into the clinical setting),
- in tumour diagnosis and treatment (clinical category),
- in health services research (a special prize in 2024, a permanent category since 2025).
Each category is endowed with €7,500.
