Hans Clevers – Prizewinner 2016

The Dutch biologist and physician has developed a new standard procedure for the unlimited reproduction of adult stem cells, enabling the growth of rudimentary organs in miniature format, known as organoids. Drugs can now be tested in lifelike conditions in a Petri dish, and damaged organs can be repaired and possibly replaced. Hans Clevers is to receive the Körber Prize endowed with 750,000 euros for these ground-breaking findings and their further development up to clinical application.
Clevers conducts research on adult stem cells in digestive organs, in particular in the small intestine. Adult stem cells are present in the body after birth and can repair defects throughout a person's life. They regularly renew the inner tissue lining of the small intestine. The prize winner is particularly interested in the signals that cause the stem cells to divide. Using a receptor (Lgr5) discovered by him which is present only in stem cells, he was able to isolate these cells from retrieved intestinal tissue.
In 2009, Clevers successfully generated an intestine organoid from a single intestinal stem cell which survived for several months in the Petri dish. This is regarded as a breakthrough in stem cell research. Drugs are already being tested on, for example, mini-organs generated from tumour tissue. "Instead of subjecting a bowel cancer patient to non-specific chemotherapy, we can give him a drug that has proven particularly effective on his laboratory-tested tumour organoids," says Clevers.
In 2013 he successfully removed the genetic defect from intestinal stem cells of patients suffering from the hereditary disease cystic fibrosis.
Hans Clevers is 59 years old and has been Head of the Research Department of the Princess Máxima Centre in Utrecht, a newly established paediatric cancer hospital, since 2015. He received the Körber Prize in Hamburg City Hall on 7 September, 2016.
Report of the presentation of the prize
Replacement Organs from a Petri Dish
Hamburg's mayor began the ceremony for the presentation of the Körber European Science Prize in Hamburg City Hall with impressive figures. A one with 14 zeros, that is the number of cells in an adult human. Placed one behind the other, a chain of these cells would span the globe about 60 times. 50,000 cells die per second, but just as many are created at the same time. Human cells and this year's winner who comprises the same, Prof. Dr. Hans Clevers, remained the focus of the event. Clevers has developed a new standard method for the unlimited reproduction of adult stem cells, with which he can grow rudimentary organs in miniature format, so-called organoids. And it is for this achievement that he has been awarded this year's Körber Prize.
The road to the point where diseased livers or stomachs can be cured or even replaced by organoids may still be long, Scholz continued. But it is no longer science fiction. These organoids are already of practical benefit in research today. For example, they are used in the testing of new drugs and in the development of individually tailored chemotherapy. "You have not only impressed us in Hamburg with your research, you have inspired us," said Scholz. Firmly integrated into the European community, Hamburg has developed into a major centre for innovation and science. This is also thanks to the commitment of the Körber Foundation, he concluded.
Gallery
Our Prizewinner on Film
Lecture2Go: Stem cells, organoids and human disease
More Information about Hans Clevers:
Photos
Photos of the presentation of the Koerber European Science Prize 2016 to Nicola Spaldin on September 7, Hamburg Town Hall.
These photos are free to use in the context of news coverage with the credit Körber Foundation/David Ausserhofer.

Dr. Lothar Dittmer, Chairman of the Executive Board of the Körber Foundation, and Prof. Dr. Martin Stratmann, President of Max Planck Society, present the Körber European Science Prize 2016 to Hans Clevers
Photo: Körber-Stiftung/David Ausserhofer

Hans Clevers, winner of the Körber European Science Prize 2016, in conversation with science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar
Photo: Körber-Stiftung/David Ausserhofer

Hans Clevers, winner of the Körber European Science Prize 2016, in conversation with science journalist Ranga Yogeshwar
Photo: Körber-Stiftung/David Ausserhofer

Presentation of the Prize on September 7 2016, Hamburg Town Hall
Photo: Körber-Stiftung/David Ausserhofer
more photos
Photos: Körber Foundation/Friedrun Reinhold (click on the images for printable versions)
These photos are free to use in the context of news coverage with the credit Körber Foundation/Friedrun Reinhold.
