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The future of transplant medicine is fueled by efforts of outstanding researchers and their teams. Innovative preclinical and clinical research projects will continuously improve our knowledge of transplantation and address emerging challenges.
To advance transplant research in Switzerland, the Swiss Transplantation Society (STS) has been conferring two awards: the STS Excellence Award, endowed with CHF 20,000, and the STS Innovation Award, endowed with CHF 10,000. Both awards are financially supported by Astellas Pharma AG and were initiated in 2016. At the STS annual meeting the STS Excellence Award and the STS Innovation Award will be presented every other year, with one year for the STC Excellence Award and one year for the STS Innovation Award.
An independent jury of experts elects the award winners among eligible candidates who may be surgeons, physicians, or other persons active in translational transplantation research as well as clinical practice within Switzerland. The STS Excellence Award shall be conferred to a person in the middle of his/her career, below 55 years of age, whereas the STS Innovation Award shall be conferred to a younger candidate, ≤ 45 years of age, with outstanding future potential. (For the full rules and further details please consult the STS website). The winners are awarded as the representatives of a research group or project for outstanding scientific and/or clinical achievements.
We cordially congratulate the winner of the STS Innovation Award 2025: Dr. Matthias Diebold. Dr. Diebold is a nephrologist based in Basel and is leading groundbreaking research on microvascular inflammation in kidney transplantation.
His work addresses one of the most significant challenges in transplantation: long-term graft survival. Antibody-mediated rejection (AMR) and mixed rejection remain the leading causes of chronic graft loss. His research tackles these critical issues through multiple innovative approaches. Dr. Diebold has made substantial advances in understanding and mitigating AMR through his investigation of CD38 as a therapeutic target. His landmark study, recently published in Nature Medicine (2025), demonstrates the effect of felzartamab anti-CD38 treatment on the molecular phenotype of antibody-mediated rejection in kidney transplant biopsies. Using molecular microscope analysis, he identified novel ABMR classifiers that enhance our understanding of rejection mechanisms—a discovery of high-impact significance. Dr. Diebold is currently leading an open-label extension phase 2 trial investigating felzartamab, with findings in preparation for publication.
Building on this foundation, Dr. Diebold's research extends to natural killer (NK) cell genetics and microvascular inflammation. His publications in Transplantation (2025) and the American Journal of Transplantation (2024) establish the functional relationship between NK-cell genetics, donor-specific antibody (DSA)-triggered inflammation, and graft outcomes, providing deeper mechanistic insights into post-transplant immunity.
Looking forward, Dr. Diebold is pioneering investigation into DSA-negative microvascular inflammation, a condition present in approximately 30–40% of transplanted patients yet poorly understood. His emerging work explores novel forms of microvascular inflammation classified as DSA-negative, CD4-negative. Rather than attributing this inflammation to a single cause, Dr. Diebold's hypothesis incorporates multiple mechanisms, including the "missing self" phenomenon and KIR-mediated immunity (KIA), offering a more nuanced understanding of post-transplant pathophysiology.
Prof. Dr. med. Markus Barten, Hamburg, Head of Jury (left)
Dr. med. Matthias Diebold, Basel, STS Innovation Award winner(middle)
PhD Stephanie Wachner, Astellas Pharma AG (right)
The STS Scientific Committee aims to give young researchers the opportunity to present their work and take part in the annual STS conference. The oral and poster presentations are aimed at “young investigators” (doctors, nurses and allied health professionals). The Young Investigator Awards are each endowed with CHF 750.-, are financially supported by Astellas Pharma AG and were initiated in 2024. These awards highlight the innovative research of emerging researchers in the field.
The winners will be officially announced and awarded during the annual conference of the Swiss Transplantation Society in Thun.
Dr. Julien Vionnet (Lausanne) for his presentation on "Cardiovascular Outcomes in Solid-Organ Transplant Recipients of the Swiss Transplant Cohort Study"
(from left to right):
Prof. Nicolas Müller, Zurich, Chair of the STS Scientific Committee
Dr. med. Dr. Julien Vionnet (Lausanne), Best Oral Award
Valérie Olivier (Geneva) for her research on "Microvascular Inflammation is Influenced by the KIR Peripheral Repertoire and CMV Infection in Kidney Transplanted Patients"
(from left to right)
Prof. Nicolas Müller, Zurich, Chair of the STS Scientific Committee
Dr. med. Valérie Olivier (Geneva), Best Poster Award
The winners have been officially announced and awarded during the Annual Meeting of the Swiss Transplantation Society in Thun on 23rd of January 2026.
For more information on the previous winners and the award jury, please visit the Swisstransplant Magazine or directly access the articles in German and French by clicking on the weblinks in the table below.
Hall of Fame:
| Year | Award | Winner | Link to Article in Swisstransplant Magazine |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Innovation Recognition | Dr. med. Matthias Diebold, USB Dr. med. Julien Vionnet, CHUV (best oral presentation) Dr. med. Valérie Olivier, HUG (best poster) | n/a |
| 2024 | Innovation Recognition | MD PhD Lena Berchtold, HUG Dr. med. Matthias Diebold, USB (best oral presentation) Dr. med. Dusan Harmacek, USZ (best poster) | n/a |
| 2023 | Innovation Excellence | MD PhD Andrea Peoloso, UNIGE and HUG Dr. med. Julien Vionnet, CHUV | n/a |
| 2022 | Innovation Excellence | PhD Maud Wilhelm / MSc Amandeep Kaur, UniBas MD PhD Ekaterine Berishvili, UNIGE and HUG | n/a |
| 2020/21 | Innovation Excellence | Dr. med. Dilmurodjon Eshmuminov, USZ Dr. med. Graziano Oldani, HUG | n/a |
| 2020 | Innovation Excellence | Due to the COVID-19 pandemic situation, the annual congress of the Swiss Transplantation Society 2021 had to be cancelled. Thus, the Excellence and Innovation Awards 2020 could not take place as planned, but the candidates who applied in 2020 were informed that they are automatically candidates for 2021. | n/a |
| 2019 | Innovation Excellence | MD PhD Alban Longchamp, CHUV Prof. MD PhD Déla Golshayan, CHUV | n/a |
| 2018 | Excellence | Prof. Dr. med. Stefan Schaub, USB | n/a |
| 2017 | Excellence | Prof. MD PhD Christian Toso, HUG | German, French |
| 2016 | Excellence | PD Dr. Oriol Manuel, CHUV | German, French |
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