Christoph Lange receives the DZIF Prize for Translational Infection Research 2025
Tuberculosis research with global impact
He is one of the world's leading clinical researchers in the field of tuberculosis (TB): Prof. Dr. Dr. h. c. Christoph Lange has been awarded the DZIF Prize for Translational Infection Research 2025. The award recognizes Christoph Lange's outstanding contribution to the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of tuberculosis, especially antibiotic-resistant forms. The award ceremony took place on February 24, 2025, in Bonn during the joint annual meeting of the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and the Paul-Ehrlich-Society for Infection Therapy (PEG).
Christoph Lange has been researching tuberculosis for more than two decades and is one of the leading experts in this field. As Professor of Respiratory Medicine & International Health at the University of Lübeck and Medical Director of the Research Center Borstel, the Leibniz Lung Center, Christoph Lange and his colleagues are committed to translation: to gaining scientific insights in basic research and translating them into clinical practice.
Lange's research focus and translational work
Christoph Lange recognized early on that TB can only be effectively combated through internationally networked structures. His translational work includes the establishment of international networks such as TBnet, a platform that is now one of the largest independent research networks for tuberculosis worldwide. In addition, he has devoted himself to the development and validation of clinically relevant biomarkers in the DZIF infrastructure ClinTB and DZIF projects on personalized medicine. His work on establishing evidence-based TB therapy concepts has been directly incorporated into WHO guidelines. He has also been heavily involved in setting up Eastern European Study Sites.
Furthermore, as clinical director, Professor Lange is contributing to the establishment of a study platform for the development of shorter and more effective TB therapies in the DZIF-funded IMI-EU project UNITE4TB – all under the premise of closely integrating basic research and clinical care for patients.
Under Lange's leadership, the first Europe-wide cohorts have been established via TBnet since 2006, in which the widespread distribution of resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains in Eastern European countries was demonstrated for the first time. The research results led to a revision of the WHO definitions for tuberculosis treatment outcomes and proved that individualized treatment of TB is superior to standardized “one-size-fits-all” therapies.
As part of ClinTB, a prospective national cohort was established to analyze treatment courses under ideal conditions and identify biomarkers for individualized therapy. Dr. Maja Reimann in Christoph Lange's team succeeded in doing this: a biomarker is currently being scientifically tested which, according to initial results, predicts the individual end of therapy for each patient. In addition, biomathematicians in Lange's team were able to identify biomarkers to predict the occurrence of undesirable side effects or the duration of infectivity.
Together with partners in Moldova and Ukraine, treatment outcomes for antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis were examined under changing therapy conditions: The use of older treatment methods resulted in low success rates, while a more modern, bedaquiline-based therapy led to higher success rates. However, at the same time, more and more resistance is developing – including to bedaquiline. The corresponding study data had a direct influence on the WHO guidelines for the treatment of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis.
The “UNITE4TB” project, an EU IMI flagship project coordinated by Professor Lange as clinical lead together with Professor Michael Hölscher from Munich, is the most comprehensive study platform in the history of TB therapies with €180 million in funding and is co-financed by the DZIF. UNITE4TB aims to develop shorter, more effective, and better tolerated TB therapies.
Professor Lange conducts research on the above topics primarily at the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) and in international consortia such as TBnet, anTBiotic, stool4TB, clickTB, and UNITE4TB. Professor Lange has served as an elected volunteer director and secretary general of the International Union against Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases (The UNION) since 2023.
Scientific results as the basis for global treatment strategies
Christoph Lange's scientific strength is also reflected in his track record of publications: with >470 peer-reviewed publications, many of them in leading international journals, an h-index of 98, and >37,500 citations, Professor Lange is one of the most renowned tuberculosis researchers worldwide. As first or senior author, he has written review articles on antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis for leading journals such as the New England Journal of Medicine, The Lancet, and Nature Review Disease Primers, and was also the lead author in the development of international guidelines for the management of pulmonary infections caused by non-tuberculous mycobacteria. In Germany, Professor Lange is a member of the S2 guideline group on TB and is the only German member of the WHO Guideline Commission for Tuberculosis Therapy.
In addition to his research, Christoph Lange is also committed to promoting young scientists, for example by organizing the TBnet Academy and international programs in Eswatini in southern Africa. At the international level, Prof. Lange is not only active in science but also as an advisor to the WHO, the US National Institute of Health, and Doctors Without Borders, working with health systems on all continents, in both high-tech and developing countries. In these roles, Lange ensures that the latest study results are translated into global strategies and incorporated into medical guidelines, among other things, which serve as decision-making aids for doctors and medical staff.
The DZIF Prize for Translational Research
"Christoph Lange is one of the most influential clinical tuberculosis researchers worldwide. His work is characterized by a clear strategic line and is an outstanding example of translational infection research," emphasized DZIF Chairman Prof. Dirk Busch in his laudatory speech.
With the DZIF Prize for Translational Infection Research, the DZIF Academy honors outstanding scientific achievements in the field of translational infection research every year. The prize, worth €5,000, was presented to Prof. Christoph Lange at a ceremony in Bonn on February 24, 2026. Previous winners are listed on the DZIF Academy website.
Tuberculosis (TB), and especially the antibiotic-resistant strains, is one of the leading causes of death among infectious diseases. As with hardly any other disease, the number of new cases is strongly dependent on social factors. The World Health Organization considers antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis to be one of the greatest threats to global health.
- Curriculum vitae Univ.-Prof. Dr. med. Dr. h. c. Christoph Lange (excerpts)
Christoph Lange studied medicine at the University of Witten-Herdecke as a second degree. As a biologist, he already had his own teaching position parallel to his medical studies.
Functions
- Medical Director at the Research Center Borstel
- University Professor (W3) for Respiratory Medicine
& International Health at the University of Lübeck (civil servant) - Visiting Professor of Mycobacterial Diseases at the UKE, Hamburg
- Visiting Professor at Baylor College of Medicine and Texas
Children's Hospital, Houston, TX, USA - Head of the Clinical Tuberculosis Unit
at the German Center for Infection Research (DZIF) - Head of the Clinical Infectious Diseases Research Group
at the Research Center Borstel - Head of Medical Infrastructure
(MVZ, Study Center, and Biobank) at the Research Center Borstel
Professional milestones
- 2022 Specialist in Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases
- 2018 Medical Director of the Research Center Borstel
- 2017-2021 Chief Physician at the Medical Clinic of the
Research Center Borstel - 2014- Professor (W3) for International Health/Infectious Diseases
(renamed in 2018 to: Respiratory Medicine & International
Health) at the University of Lübeck - 2009-2017 Senior Physician, Medical Clinic of the Research Center Borstel
- 2004 Habilitation in Internal Medicine
- 2001-2009 Specialization in Pneumology (2003) and additional qualifications
in Infectiology (2006), Allergology (2008), Intensive Care Medicine
(2008) and Sleep Medicine (2009); Training at the Medical Clinic of
the Research Center Borstel - 2001 Specialist in Internal Medicine
- 1999-2001 Fellowship in Clinical Infectiology (CWRU, Cleveland, Ohio, USA)
- 1995-1999 Training in Internal Medicine (UCT Cape Town, KKH Preetz and
KKH Rendsburg) - 1995 Doctorate (Dr. med.)
- 1994 Third state medical examination (University of Witten/Herdecke)
- 1988 Biology degree (Christian Albrecht University of Kiel)
Prizes and awards
- 2026 DZIF Prize for Translational Infection Research 2025
- 2026 Oskar Medical Prize 2025 from the Oskar-Helene Heim Foundation
- 2024 Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (FRCP)
- 2023 Hinduja Hospital Oration Award, Mumbai, India
- 2018 Memento Research Prize for Neglected Diseases (Doctors Without
Borders, Bread for the World, DAHW, and Buko Pharma Initiative) - 2017 Spinoza Chair of Medicine, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands
- 2017 Fellow of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and
Infectious Diseases (FESCMID) - 2014 Fellow of the European Respiratory Society (FERS)
- 2015 Science Award of the Stifterverband für die Deutsche Wissenschaft
- 2013 Doctor honoris causa, USMF, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova
- 2006 Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (FIDSA)
- 2003 Hector Research Award for the pathogenesis of HIV infection
