“Every Cell Tells Its Own Story” – Aviv Regev Awarded the 2026 Meyenburg Prize
The 2026 Meyenburg Prize goes to bioinformatician and systems biologist Aviv Regev, head of research at the biotech company Genentech in San Francisco, USA.
The scientist is considered a pioneer of single-cell genomics, a method that allows for the high-resolution measurement and analysis of gene activity in individual cells—a field of research that has fundamentally transformed biomedicine.
The award, which comes with a prize of 50,000 euros, was presented on July 28 at a symposium marking the 50th anniversary of the Meyenburg Foundation at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ).
“The list of all previous Meyenburg Prize laureates reads like an international ‘Who’s Who’ of cutting-edge cancer research. Many of the recipients have transformed our understanding of cancer with their ideas and given patients new hope. With their far-sighted decision to establish the Meyenburg Prize, Wilhelm and Maria Meyenburg laid the foundation for an extraordinary success story,” said Michael Baumann, Executive Director of the DKFZ, in his tribute to the founding couple at the symposium marking the 50th anniversary of the Meyenburg Foundation.
The presentation of this year’s Meyenburg Prize took place following the anniversary symposium. The laureate, Aviv Regev, is one of the pioneers of single-cell genomics, a field of research that has fundamentally transformed biomedicine. While traditional genomic analyses examined millions of cells collectively and thus provided only average values, Regev developed experimental and computer-aided methods that allow the activity of genes in individual cells to be recorded and evaluated at high resolution. This revealed just how diverse cell types and cell states actually are and how they change during development, immune responses, or cancer development.
“Aviv Regev has shown us that every single cell tells its own story—and has thus ushered in a new era of biomedicine. Single-cell genomics has transformed biology from a science of averages into a science of individual cells. Instead of analyzing millions of cells collectively, we can now measure the genetic activity of each individual cell and thus identify how healthy and diseased cells differ, how cancer develops, or how the immune system responds to infections,” says Stefan Fröhling, Chairman of the Meyenburg Foundation and Executive Director of the NCT Heidelberg, in his tribute to the awardee. “For this extraordinary combination of visionary thinking, methodological excellence, and lasting impact on biomedical research, we are delighted to award her the 2026 Meyenburg Prize.”
Regev combined molecular biology techniques with algorithms from computer science and statistics, thereby creating new tools for understanding complex tissues as dynamic systems.
Her work has contributed to the discovery of previously unknown cell types, the reconstruction of differentiation processes, and a better understanding of the interactions between tumor cells and their microenvironment. These findings have opened up new approaches for diagnostics and the development of targeted therapies.
About Aviv Regev
Dr. Aviv Regev is Head of Research and Early Development at Genentech. Prior to joining Genentech, she was Department Chair, a core member, and founding director of the Klarman Cell Observatory at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University, as well as a professor of biology at MIT and a researcher at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She is a co-founder and co-chair of the Human Cell Atlas. In addition to numerous awards, she is an elected member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Medicine.
About the Meyenburg Prize
The Meyenburg Foundation has been awarding the Meyenburg Prize through the DKFZ since 1981. The award, which recognizes outstanding achievements in cancer research, is one of the most highly endowed scientific prizes and among the most prestigious awards for cancer research in Germany.
The prestige of the award is also evident in the fact that numerous Meyenburg Prize laureates have subsequently been awarded the Nobel Prize: Andrew Fire, 2002 Meyenburg Prize laureate (Nobel Prize in Medicine 2006); Elizabeth Blackburn, 2006 Meyenburg Prize laureate (Nobel Prize in Medicine 2009); Shinya Yamanaka, 2007 Meyenburg Prize laureate (2012 Nobel Prize in Medicine), Stefan Hell, 2011 Meyenburg Prize laureate (2014 Nobel Prize in Chemistry), Emanuelle Charpentier, 2016 Meyenburg Prize laureate (2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry), Katalin Karikó, 2021/22 Meyenburg Prize laureate (2023 Nobel Prize in Medicine).
*The Meyenburg Symposium took place on July 28 at the DKFZ.
Pictures accompanying the press release are available for download:
https://www.dkfz.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Skoe/Download/Pressemitteilungen/2026/Arndt-DKFZ-50Jahre-Meyenburg-7-2026-nr2.jpg
Caption: Aviv Regev, 2026 Meyenburg Prize winner, with Stefan Fröhling, NCT Heidelberg and Executive Director of the Meyenburg Foundation
https://www.dkfz.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Skoe/Download/Pressemitteilungen/2026/Arndt-DKFZ-50Jahre-Meyenburg-7-2026-nr5.jpg
Caption: From left to right: Wolfgang Henkel, Meyenburg Foundation; Aviv Regev, 2026 Meyenburg Prize winner; Marion Meyenburg; Stefan Fröhling, Executive Director of the Meyenburg Foundation, NCT Heidelberg; Christiane Opitz, Meyenburg Foundation and DKFZ.
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With more than 3,000 employees, the German Cancer Research Center (Deutsches Krebsforschungszentrum, DKFZ) is Germany’s largest biomedical research institute. DKFZ scientists identify cancer risk factors, investigate how cancer progresses and develop new cancer prevention strategies. They are also developing new methods to diagnose tumors more precisely and treat cancer patients more successfully. The DKFZ's Cancer Information Service (KID) provides patients, interested citizens and experts with individual answers to questions relating to cancer.
To transfer promising approaches from cancer research to the clinic and thus improve the prognosis of cancer patients, the DKFZ cooperates with excellent research institutions and university hospitals throughout Germany:
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- German Cancer Consortium (DKTK, 8 sites)
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- National Cancer Prevention Center (jointly with German Cancer Aid)
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