Presentation of the Thesis Award of the Centre for Synthetic Biology

2022/08/30 by

On August 30, 2022, the Thesis Awards of the Centre for Synthetic Biology were presented for the first time in person. The botanical garden of the TU Darmstadt offered the ideal venue for this event in best weather. Professor Heinz Koeppl presented the thesis award endowed with 1500 € to Dr. Jan Bogen.

Prof. Dr. Heinz Koeppl presents the Thesis Award to Dr. Jan Bogen

Dr. Jan Bogen's dissertation, which was prepared in the research group of Prof. Harald Kolmar, deals with a variety of new methods for the generation, screening and engineering of tumour-specific antibodies. Among them is a novel method for the construction of immune libraries based on bidirectional vector systems. The molecules isolated in this work were adapted and optimised so that they could be combined into a trispecific, multifunctional antibody. This was able to prevent both the growth of cancer cells and their masking from the immune system, and at the same time mediated the attack of immune cells on the tumour cells. This molecule is thus unique in its mode of action and paves the way for new therapeutic approaches in the future.

The prize for the best Bachelor's thesis (250 €) went to Ron Endruszeit and the prize for the best Master's thesis (500 €) to Sarah Schmitt. Both theses were written in the working group of Prof. Viktor Stein.

Every year, the Centre for Synthetic Biology at TU Darmstadt awards prizes for outstanding theses in the field of synthetic biology. The application deadline for theses in the field of synthetic biology written at TU Darmstadt in 2022 is the 15. February 2023. The award ceremony was kindly supported by the German Association for Synthetic Biology (GASB).