Research grants endowed with €240,000 each

DKMs Funds blood cancer research – call For applications launched

Scientists with a research focus on stem cell transplantation and cell therapy are invited to apply for the 2023 DKMS John Hansen Research Grant starting August 10, 2022. With this grant, the DKMS Stiftung Leben Spenden (Foundation for Giving Life) supports up to four outstanding research projects each year that aim to advance the medical progress and improve the chances of recovery for blood cancer patients. The requirements include a doctoral degree (PhD, MD or equivalent) that was obtained no longer than 10 years ago. The grants are endowed with €240,000 each, which will be paid out over a period of three years. The application deadline is December 2, 2022.

In India, DKMS operantes as DKMS BMST Foundation India, which is a joint venture with BMST (Bangalore Medical Services Trust). DKMS-BMST was officially launched on 28th May 2019 with a mission to give every blood cancer and blood disorder patient in need with a second chance at life. Since its launch, DKMS-BMST has organized over 1300 donor registration events across various organisations such as corporates, educational institutes, hospitals and defence forces to raise awareness about blood stem cell donation and enrol more potential donors. So far, DKMS-BMST has successfully registered over 70,000 potential blood stem cell donors from India and provided 64 patients with a second chance at life.

Every year, more than 1.3 million people worldwide are diagnosed with blood cancer. A blood stem cell transplantation saves the lives of many of them. However, by far not all patients are permanently cured afterwards. Relapses and severe complications, especially graft-versus-host disease, still pose a great challenge for medicine and science.

Therefore, DKMS is committed to medical progress beyond its original tasks as a stem cell donor center. An important pillar of this commitment is the promotion of young scientists. “Our goal is to help as many patients as possible, across the globe,” says Professor Dr. Marcel van den Brink, Chairman of the DKMS Medical Council. “To achieve this goal, we must continue to develop and improve stem cell transplantation and other cellular therapies. It is therefore vital that the best research in this field is secured for the future. We are very pleased to be able to contribute towards this with the DKMS John Hansen Research Grant, which supports research by talented early career physicians and scientists.”

All information about the application modalities and further details about the DKMS John Hansen Research Grant are available on the DKMS Professionals’ Platform. If you have any questions, you are also welcome to email DKMS at grant@dkms.org.

DKMS: More than 100,000 second chances at life

DKMS is known as one of the world’s leading stem cell donor centers. More than 11 million potential stem cell donors are registered with DKMS. To date, DKMS has already enabled more than 100,000 second chances at life. In addition, the non-profit organization operates its own research unit in Dresden and, with the DKMS Life Science Lab, has one of the most powerful HLA typing laboratories in the world. Since the beginning of 2020 alone, DKMS research teams have launched nine innovative scientific studies. Those who would like to find out more about the scientific commitment of the non-profit organization can find detailed information on the DKMS Professionals’ Platform.

John A. Hansen – outstanding physician with a big heart

John A. Hansen, after whom the grant is named, was an outstanding oncologist and distinguished immunogeneticist at the renowned Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. With his excellent achievements in the field of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, this dedicated and empathetic physician made a significant contribution to increasing the efficacy and safety of blood stem cell and bone marrow transplantations – and thus gave numerous patients a second chance at life. As a long-standing member of the board of the DKMS Stiftung Leben Spenden and a member of the DKMS Medical Council, he was deeply connected to the DKMS family.

The DKMS Stiftung Leben Spenden

DKMS Stiftung Leben Spenden is the wholly owned parent company of DKMS gGmbH and the entire international DKMS Group. You can find more information about the foundation here.

DKMS – Global Corporate Communications – Laura Schulz – T +49 (0)221 940582 3243 – lschulz@dkms.de – http://www.dkms.org