Prof. Özlem Türeci

How to translate science into survival

Özlem will share the journey of pursuing a vision across the boundaries of science, medicine and entrepreneurship. Drawing on experiences from cancer immunology, company-building and patient-centred translation, she will reflect on what it takes to move an idea from the laboratory towards real-world impact, why entrepreneurial, science-led value creation are essential to transforming medicine, and where she sees the next frontiers in treating cancer.

Prof. Özlem Türeci

Physician-scientist, professor of immunology and entrepreneur

Özlem is a physician-scientist, professor of immunology and entrepreneur. Together with her partner Uğur Şahin she has built academic institutions and companies from a simple conviction: that deep insight into the immune system can be translated into new medicines for patients. She co-founded and scaled Ganymed and later BioNTech, two companies that have taken scientific ideas from their earliest stages through to drug products reaching people with high medical need — including the first approved pandemic COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, and Zolbetuximab, an immunotherapy for gastric cancer patients. Özlem’s next entrepreneurial chapter is a third company at the intersection of personalized immunotherapies, AI and mRNA technology.

Prof. Özlem Türeci

Physician-scientist, professor of immunology and entrepreneur

Özlem is a physician-scientist, professor of immunology and entrepreneur. Together with her partner Uğur Şahin she has built academic institutions and companies from a simple conviction: that deep insight into the immune system can be translated into new medicines for patients. She co-founded and scaled Ganymed and later BioNTech, two companies that have taken scientific ideas from their earliest stages through to drug products reaching people with high medical need — including the first approved pandemic COVID-19 mRNA vaccine, and Zolbetuximab, an immunotherapy for gastric cancer patients. Özlem’s next entrepreneurial chapter is a third company at the intersection of personalized immunotherapies, AI and mRNA technology.