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Professor Daniela Lössner and Team Receive 2025 Innovation Award for Hydrogel-Enabled Cancer Models
Professor Daniela Lössner and her research team—Dr. Ali Nadernezhad, Dr. Sandra Hauser, and Dr. Verena Kast—have been presented with the 2025 Innovation Award by the Association of Supporters of the Leibniz Institute of Polymer Research Dresden (IPF). The award recognizes their use of biomaterials to model the tumor microenvironment.
Cancer research increasingly relies on model systems that capture the complexity and adaptability of living tissues. Biological systems dynamically regulate molecular signals that control tissue organization, development, and response to external stimuli. Replicating these properties in synthetic systems enables more accurate investigation of cancer biology and supports the development of improved diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.
Professor Lössner and her team have developed hydrogel-based constructs to mimic essential features of the tumor microenvironment. In their approach, “cell-instructive” materials allow controlled modulation of biological processes toward a more realistic representation of tumor tissue. By integrating predictive and exploratory modeling with multidimensional data analysis, the researchers can reconstruct key aspects of tumor biology and its underlying biophysical interactions.
Working at the intersection of tumor biology and tissue engineering, the team has established an interdisciplinary framework. Their hydrogel-based systems facilitate the systematic study of how and why healthy tissue transforms into malignant states, offering insights into mechanisms of tumor initiation and progression. This approach improves the predictive value of experimental models, contributes to more reliable drug testing and disease modeling, and provides new understanding of how tumor growth can be slowed or reduced.
Overall, the research team’s work highlights the transformative potential of hydrogel materials in biomedical research—from the development of advanced three-dimensional culture technologies to future clinical applications.
27.04.2026