Medicine of the future: CAR-T cell therapy at MS Wissenschaft
04/21/2026Researchers from Würzburg and Leipzig are contributing an interactive exhibit to the MS Wissenschaft exhibition ship. This puts an innovative immunotherapy against cancer centre stage.
In 2026, everything on the MS Wissenschaft will revolve around the question of how personalisation, prevention and new technologies will shape the medicine of the future. The ship starts its tour on 7 May in Berlin. It will dock at Viehmarktplatz in Würzburg from 8 to 11 September 2026.
How therapies with CAR-T cells work
The innovative medical approaches on show on the ship include immunotherapies against cancer:
"With our exhibit, we want to give visitors a clear understanding of how CAR-T cell therapy works," explains Professor Michael Hudecek. He holds the Chair of Cellular Immunotherapy at Würzburg University Hospital (UKW) and is head of the Würzburg branch of the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology in Leipzig.
In CAR-T cell therapy, the body's own immune cells are modified so that they recognise and specifically combat cancer cells - an example of the innovative treatment methods being developed at Würzburg University Hospital.
Innovative therapy becomes tangible in a game
The exhibit is one of around 30 exhibits on the ship. On a large touch table, visitors to the exhibition can assemble their own CAR-T cells in a drag-and-drop game. With the right receptor, the CAR, they can give immune cells a "superpower" to specifically destroy cancer cells.
"We want to make a complex yet promising cancer therapy understandable and raise public awareness of its opportunities and limitations," says Michael Hudecek. His department designed the game together with the Games Engineering Group of the Chair of Human-Computer Interaction at the University of Würzburg under the direction of Professor Sebastian von Mammen.
UKW Medical Director: Innovative diagnostics and therapy
"With our research, we are shaping the medicine of the future - from innovative diagnostic procedures to novel, personalised therapeutic approaches. We are delighted to be able to initiate an open exchange about this at MS Wissenschaft," says Professor Tim J. von Oertzen, Medical Director and CEO of the UKW.
JMU President: Strengthening dialogue with society
Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg (JMU) is also taking the Science Year on "Medicine of the Future" as an opportunity to highlight its expertise in research and teaching: "Participation in the Science Year is an expression of our self-image of combining scientific excellence with social responsibility and strengthening the dialogue between science, politics and society," emphasises JMU President Paul Pauli.
Sponsors: The Würzburg-Leipzig exhibit for MS Wissenschaft is supported by the Comprehensive Cancer Center Allianz WERA (CCC WERA), the National Centre for Tumour Diseases (NCT) WERA, the Vogel Foundation Dr. Eckernkamp, PlasmidFactory GmbH, Miltenyi Biotec and Johnson & Johnson.
The MS Wissenschaft
The 2026 route of the MS Wissenschaft will take the 100-metre-long inland cargo ship from Berlin first to Poland, then through Germany and Austria. The ship will call at around 35 cities in total. Admission is free.
Around 100,000 people visit the exhibition every year, including many school classes and families. MS Wissenschaft is organised by Wissenschaft im Dialog gGmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space.
The Science Year 2026
The ship's tour is taking place as part of the Science Year 2026, which has the motto "Medicine of the Future". The Science Years of the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space bring science and society into dialogue - through nationwide exhibitions, school projects, citizen dialogues and events.
