Rolf Kiessling receives CIMT Lifetime Achievement Award

Karolinska Institutet’s Senior Professor in Experimental Oncology Rolf Kiessling Receives CIMT Lifetime Achievement Award for Groundbreaking Contributions to Cancer Immunotherapy

Mainz, Germany, March 20, 2025 – The Swedish cancer immunologist and researcher Rolf Kiessling has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 CIMT Lifetime Achievement Award for his discovery of natural killer (NK) cells, which was fundamental to our understanding of the immune response to viruses and cancer cells. Rolf Kiessling is a Senior Professor of Experimental Oncology at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm and a Senior Consultant at Karolinska University Hospital.

Awarded every other year, the CIMT Lifetime Achievement Award honors European scientists who have made significant contributions to cancer immunotherapy research and education throughout their careers. The CIMT Lifetime Achievement Award is endowed with 10,000 EUR and will be presented on the evening of Tuesday, May 13, at 6 p.m., during the 22nd Annual Meeting of the Association for Cancer Immunotherapy CIMT, held in Mainz, Germany, from May 12–14, 2025.

Rolf Kiessling’s groundbreaking work over the past five decades has profoundly shaped the field of cancer immunology. His discovery and naming of natural killer (NK) cells in the 1970s, published in a series of seminal studies in the European Journal of Immunology and the International Journal of Cancer, was a landmark achievement that defined NK cells as critical components of the innate immune system, complementary to and distinct from T cells and the adaptive immune system. During his thesis work in Kiessling’s group, Klas Kärre described how NK cells are triggered by the absence or reduced expression of self-MHC class I, a concept that remains central to our understanding of NK cell activation and has directly influenced the development of NK cell-based immunotherapies. Kiessling’s research established the developmental pathways, regulatory mechanisms, and functional roles of NK cells, laying the foundation for the current advances in NK cell-based cancer immunotherapies.

Beyond NK cells, Kiessling’s contributions span a broad range of cancer immunotherapy approaches. His studies on tumor-induced immune dysfunction and the role of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) and oxidative stress have shaped strategies to overcome immune suppression in cancer patients. His extensive work on cancer vaccines, including peptide-based, DNA-based, and dendritic cell-based strategies, has significantly advanced the understanding of antigen-specific immune responses in cancer. His efforts to combine adoptive T cell therapies with dendritic tumor cell vaccination show promise in improving cancer cell therapy.

In addition to his scientific achievements, Rolf Kiessling has been a dedicated mentor and leader in the cancer immunology community. Over the course of his career, he has trained dozens of PhD students and postdoctoral fellows, many of whom have become prominent leaders in the field. His commitment to collaboration and education has helped foster the global cancer immunology community.

“As we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the discovery of natural killer cells, it is especially fitting to honor Dr. Kiessling with the CIMT Lifetime Achievement Award,” said Özlem Türeci, President of the Association for Cancer Immunotherapy (CIMT). “His groundbreaking discoveries have not only driven scientific progress but also inspired confidence in the potential of immunotherapy during its early days. His work has laid much of the foundation for the clinical successes seen today in cancer immunotherapy.”

For more information about the award and the 22nd CIMT Annual Meeting, please go to www.cimt.eu/lifetime-achievement and www.meeting.cimt.eu/speakers-and-program.

About CIMT

Based in Mainz, Germany, CIMT is Europe’s leading platform for education and collaboration in cancer immunotherapy. Bringing together researchers, physicians, industry, and regulatory authorities, CIMT fosters innovation and advances the field. The organization collaborates with international immunotherapy centers and research networks to drive progress. For more information, visit www.cimt.eu and www.meeting.cimt.eu.

Press contact:

Christine Castle                                                                           
Association for Cancer Immunotherapy CIMT
Göttelmannstr. 17
55130 Mainz
castle@cimt.eu                            
Phone 0151 53 222 559