In over 90 divisions and research groups, our more than 3,000 employees, of which more than 1,200 are scientists, are investigating the mechanisms of cancer, are identifying cancer risk factors and are trying to find strategies to prevent people from getting cancer. They are developing novel approaches to make tumor diagnosis more precise and treatment of cancer patients more successful.
In 2008, a very special distinction was the Nobel Prize in Medicine awarded to Professor Harald zur Hausen, who discovered that human papillomaviruses (HPV) cause cervical cancer.
In 2014, for the second time a researcher at the DKFZ has been awarded the highest distinction in science: Professor Stefan W. Hell has been awarded the 2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his pioneering work in the field of ultra high resolution fluorescence microscopy.