Since 2025, the Rhine-Main Universities (RMU) have been presenting RMU Awards in the profile areas in which the RMU pools its research. The four profile areas are Society, Health, Data, and Matter.

In 2025, two RMU Awards were presented: the RMU Award in the area of Health for “Pharmaceutical Research & Innovative Medical Therapies” of Frankfurt Foundation Quality of Medicines and the Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose RMU Award in the area of Society for the Humanities and Social Sciences.

The foundations

Frankfurt Foundation Quality of Medicines

The Frankfurt Foundation Quality of Medicines promotes research projects with the aim of assuring, developing and optimizing the quality of medicinal products and their therapeutic use. The focus is on the development of advanced processes, innovative technologies and modern standardization approaches. The Foundation also honors outstanding scientific achievements and initiatives in this field through prizes and awards – both at its own initiative and in cooperation with professional associations. 

Starting in 2025, the Foundation presents the RMU Award for Pharmaceutical Research & Innovative Medical Therapies to outstanding early career researchers. The award honors creative, pioneering research ideas with high scientific and therapeutic potential and is endowed with 10,000 euros. 
 

Sibylle-Kalkhof-Rose Foundation 

The Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose Foundation promotes research and teaching at Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz (JGU), in particular early career researchers. There are two funding lines: The University Award is presented each year to young researchers in the categories humanities and social Sciences, natural sciences and medicine. In addition, the Foundation supports outstanding, sustainable and significant projects and acquisitions at the JGU that cannot be funded from regular means. 

In 2025, the Foundation honors outstanding, personal and scientific achievements at the Rhine-Main Universities with the RMU Award. It is endowed with 10,000 euros to be used at the awardee’s discretion.

The award recipients 2025

RMU Award for Pharmaceutical Research & Innovative Medical Therapies of Frankfurt Foundation Quality of Medicines

Dr. Cristian Prieto-Garcia is a researcher at Goethe University Frankfurt, where he focuses on cellular maturation of RNA molecules. He discovered that it is possible to deliberately create errors in RNA maturation, thereby eliminating cancer cells. This finding, published in specialist journal Science, opens up new ways for cancer therapies. With innovative approaches to drug development, more than 20 professional publications and strong partners, he stands for excellent, practice-oriented research. 

Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose RMU Award for the Humanities and Social Sciences

Prof. Dr. Christian Wiese, holder of the Martin-Buber-Chair at Goethe University, is honored for his outstanding research on Jewish intellectual and cultural history and his extraordinary engagement in science, education and society. With his innovative projects on research on religion and antisemitism, international networking and the promotion of young researchers, he has made a significant impact in his field far beyond Germany. 

Further information about the foundations: