Dr. Sabrina Köcher from the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf received the award for her work on an individualized cancer therapy for prostate carcinoma. Here, human tumor tissue sections are cultivated using a new procedure with the aim of testing the effect of substances that could improve the efficacy of radiotherapy. Normally, researchers use animal models in which the human tumor is implanted to irradiate these animals. The new method can help to reduce animal testing in preclinical oncological research.

Dr. Brigitte Dorner and Dr. Daniel Stern from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) receive the prize for an in vitro method for botulism diagnostics. All serotypes of botulinum toxin (A to F) can be detected reliably and quickly using this method. It uses monoclonal antibodies and a so-called "suspension array technology".
Active botulinum toxins can be identified in vitro by detecting their substrate cleavage products and distinguishing their serotypes, which cleave at different sites.
The research group has taken advantage of this property and developed monoclonal neoepitope antibodies (Neo-mAbs), which are highly specific for the newly formed N- and/or C-termini of the substrate cleavage products of Botulinum toxin serotypes A to F. In one test system, all relevant serotypes can be detected in parallel in one sample and even in more sensitive concentrations than the test with mice (0.3-80pg/mL).

Congratulations to the award winners.

Source:
https://www.hamburg.de/pressearchiv-fhh/15215168/2021-06-28-bjv-hamburger-forschungspreis-fuer-alternativen-zum-tierversuch-verliehen/

Original publication from RKI:
Laura von Berg, Daniel Stern, Diana Pauly, Stefan Mahrhold, Jasmin Weisemann, Lisa Jentsch, Eva-Maria
Hansbauer, Christian Müller, Marc A.Avondet, Andreas Rummel, Martin B.Dorner & Brigitte G. Dorner (2019). Functional detection of botulinum neurotoxin serotypes A to F by monoclonal neoepitope-specific antibodies and suspension array technology. Scientific Reports 9:5531,
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-41722-z.