Tumor researchers Miaomiao Sun and Tobias Weiss receive Pfizer Research Award

(CONNECT) Neurologist Tobias Weiss and biologist Miaomiao Sun from the University of Zurich (UZH) have been awarded a Pfizer Research Prize 2026. The prize was awarded for her work on drugs for the treatment of glioblastomas, the most aggressive forms of brain tumors, according to a press release.

The two researchers worked together with Magdalena Krol and Maciej Bialasek, their cooperation partners from the biotech Cellis and the University of Warsaw, on the effect of macrophages in interaction with glioblastoma cells. Macrophages are immune cells that interact with glioma tumor cells and can therefore contribute to the growth of glioblastomas. In experiments, the scientists modified the macrophages in such a way that they were able to transport active substances to the tumor cells and inhibit their growth. Tests on mice showed that the active substances docked to the tumor cells and triggered a sustained anti-tumor immune response. The experiments were tested on human glioblastoma models. The tests with the mice showed a longer lifespan of diseased animals. The effect of direct tumor destruction combined with the immune response generated via macrophages could lead to a new therapeutic procedure for the treatment of glioblastomas.

This year's Pfizer Research Prizes, worth a total of 100,000 Swiss francs, were awarded to twelve scientists from Basel, Fribourg, Geneva, Lausanne and Zurich. In addition to Tobias Weiss, Miaomiao Sun and Maciej Bialasek in basic research for oncology, Rémi Vernet, Eugenio Fernandez and Nicolas Mach from the University of Geneva and Geneva University Hospital were honored in the field of clinical research/oncology for their work on inactivated tumor cells and capsules - a combined immunotherapy against cancer. Other winners are Bojana Müller-Durovic (Basic Research for Infectious Diseases/Immunology) from the University/University Hospital of Basel (the Epstein-Barr virus hijacks the metabolism to transform B cells), Teofila Seremet Caplanusi, Jeremy Di Domizio and Antoine Girardin (Clinical Research for Infectious Diseases/Immunology) from University/University Hospital Lausanne (a molecular map enables personalized skin therapies) and Lucas Spierer and Frederik Plourde (Digital Health) from University of Fribourg/BeweLab SA (a digital health solution to reduce unhealthy binge eating). ce/ww