Award Stefan Pfister Honored for Pioneering Contributions to Research into Childhood Brain Tumors
25 March 2026
Heidelberg scientist and pediatric oncologist receives the Thomas and Doris Ammann Prize
For his pioneering contributions to research into childhood brain tumors, Heidelberg scientist and pediatric oncologist Prof. Dr Stefan Pfister has received the Thomas and Doris Ammann Prize from the foundation of the same name. The award, endowed with 200,000 Swiss francs, is presented by the University Children’s Hospital Zurich (Switzerland) for outstanding achievements in pediatric neuro-oncology. It recognizes Prof. Pfister’s work on the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Stefan Pfister is head of division at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), a professor at the Medical Faculty Heidelberg of Heidelberg University and one of the three directors of the Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg (KiTZ). As a pediatric oncologist, he also works at Heidelberg University Hospital.
According to the University Children’s Hospital Zurich, Prof. Pfister’s research has yielded fundamental new insights into the molecular properties of childhood brain tumors. This includes identifying several previously unknown genetic alterations that contribute to the development of different types of brain tumors in children and adolescents. Among them are mutations that open up new therapeutic targets, as well as genetic alterations that indicate an inherited predisposition to cancer. In addition, together with colleagues, Stefan Pfister developed an AI-based method for classifying brain tumors. It is now used worldwide to enable the precise diagnosis of childhood tumors and to help determine the best possible therapy in each individual case. As stated in the citation accompanying the award, his work has paved the way for precision-medicine treatment approaches.
Stefan Pfister studied medicine at the Universities of Hamburg and Tübingen. After earning his doctorate in Tübingen and a period as a postdoctoral researcher at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts (USA), he did his pediatrics training at the DKFZ and the university hospitals in Heidelberg and Mannheim. In 2010, he completed his habilitation in pediatrics at Heidelberg University. Since 2012, Stefan Pfister has headed the Division of Pediatric Neurooncology at the DKFZ. He has held a professorship of the same name at the Medical Faculty Heidelberg since 2014. Within the three-member directorate of the Hopp Children’s Cancer Center Heidelberg, he serves as director of the preclinical program. Prof. Pfister’s work has received numerous awards, including the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Prize of the German Research Foundation, Germany’s most important research advancement prize.
The award ceremony took place in Zurich on 12 March 2026.