CCC Vienna presents Lifetime Achievement Award to two HPV vaccination pioneers -Reinhard Kirnbauer and Elmar Joura honoured for groundbreaking achievements in cancer prevention
The Comprehensive Cancer Centre (CCC) Vienna of MedUni Vienna and University Hospital Vienna presented this year's CCC Lifetime Achievement Award to two outstanding personalities who have set global standards in cancer prevention: Reinhard Kirnbauer and Elmar Joura are honoured for their fundamental and clinical contributions to the development and global implementation of HPV vaccination. The awards were presented at the CCC TRIO - Translational Research In Oncology symposium on 13 June 2025.
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With this award, CCC Vienna honours two key figures whose contributions have fundamentally changed the science and practice of cancer prevention. Reinhard Kirnbauer is being honoured for his groundbreaking co-discovery of HPV virus-like particle (VLP) technology – a scientific breakthrough that enabled the development of the first prophylactic HPV vaccines, shaped biomedical research and has prevented and will continue to prevent countless cases of cancer worldwide.
Elmar Joura receives the award for his leading role in clinical trials and the global implementation of the HPV vaccine. The studies and publications he co-authored as first author and his worldwide lecturing activities have contributed significantly to the fact that this vaccination is now established in national vaccination programmes worldwide for girls and boys and contributes to the elimination of HPV-related cancers.
‘With Reinhard Kirnbauer and Elmar Joura, we are honouring two scientists and physicians who have conducted excellent translational research for the benefit of humanity,’ explains Shahrokh Shariat, Director of CCC Vienna. "Thanks to their work, it is now possible to prevent six different types of cancer through vaccination, including cervical, vulvar, anal and penile cancer, as well as throat cancer. This is a milestone in cancer medicine."
Reinhard Kirnbauer, dermatologist and researcher at MedUni Vienna (emeritus), laid the molecular biological foundation for today's HPV vaccines in the early 1990s with the production of virus-like particles (VLPs) of the high-risk type HPV 16. These VLPs mimic the external structure of the virus exactly, but are not infectious – a decisive breakthrough in triggering a strong, protective immune response. He discovered the mechanism during a research stay at the National Institute of Health (NIH) in the USA in the laboratory of Douglas Lowy and John Schiller, who later won the Lasker Prize. This discovery marked the starting point for one of the world's most successful vaccination strategies against cancer.
Elmar Joura played a key role in clinical research, implementation and international scientific communication. He contributed to the vaccine being included in national vaccination programmes worldwide – with an unprecedented effect: in countries such as Scotland, Sweden and Denmark, long-term data show a reduction in cervical cancer of up to 90%, especially among socially disadvantaged population groups. He was not only active as a doctor and researcher, but also as an advisor to health ministries and international organisations such as the WHO.
In 2018, the World Health Organisation declared its goal of eliminating cervical cancer worldwide. HPV vaccination plays a central role in this. The work of Kirnbauer and Joura has thus paved the way for a future generation that can grow up without HPV-related cancers. Both award winners emphasise that this success is the result of outstanding national and international cooperation.
About the CCC Lifetime Achievement Award
The award is presented by the Comprehensive Cancer Centre Vienna of MedUni Vienna and Vienna General Hospital. It honours individuals who have made a lasting contribution to the fight against cancer through their outstanding work. The focus is on translational research – from the laboratory to the patient's bedside – for the benefit of people.
