DKMS is primarily known as the world's largest stem cell donor center, with more than 11.5 million registered potential stem cell donors. However, the non-profit organization is also deeply involved in the medical and scientific field. "Every year, more than 1.2 million people around the world are diagnosed with blood cancer and, though a stem cell transplant can save the lives of many of them, not all patients are permanently cured afterwards," explains Professor Dr. Marcel van den Brink, Chairman of the DKMS Medical Council. "Still, relapses and severe complications, most notably graft-versus-host disease, pose major challenges to medicine and science. We want to contribute to the continuous improvement of stem cell transplantation and other cellular therapies." To this end, DKMS runs its own research projects and is committed to ensuring excellent research for the future. "It is a matter close to our heart and the DKMS John Hansen Research Grant enables talented young scientists to work on their promising projects for the benefit of patients worldwide."

All information on the application modalities, as well as further details on the John Hansen Research Grant, are available here. If you have any questions, interested parties are also welcome to contact DKMS by email: grant@dkms.org.

DKMS - much more than a stem cell donor center

To date, DKMS has already given more than 105,000 blood cancer patients a second chance at life. In addition, the non-profit organization operates its own research unit in Dresden. With the DKMS Life Science Lab, it has the most powerful HLA typing laboratory in the world. DKMS research teams work on many different scientific studies around the topic of stem cell transplantation. One particularly successful example is the first DKMS clinical trial with practice-changing results. As a result of the trial, more patients worldwide may have access to transplantation in the future. If you would like to find out more about the scientific commitment of the non-profit organization, you will find detailed information on the DKMS Professionals' Platform.

John A. Hansen - outstanding physician with a big heart

John A. Hansen, after whom the grant is named, was an outstanding oncologist and distinguished immunogeneticist at the renowned Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle. With his excellent achievements in the field of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, this dedicated and empathetic physician made a significant contribution to increasing the efficacy and safety of blood stem cell and bone marrow transplantations - and thus helped in giving countless patients a second chance at life. As a long-standing member of the board of the DKMS Stiftung Leben Spenden and a member of the DKMS Medical Council, he was deeply connected to the DKMS family.