Falling Walls Finalists 2025
Congratulations to all 2025 Finalists!
Following the second round of the selection process, we are pleased to announce this year’s Finalists and Winners, who are all now one step closer to winning the title Science Breakthrough of the Year. We will be celebrating all Finalists and Winners at the Falling Walls Science Summit from 6–9 November 2025 in Berlin.
Next steps:
- Finalists in the following five categories: Life Sciences, Physical Sciences, Engineering & Technology, Social Sciences & Humanities, and Art & Science will be officially announced on 14 August. The Juries and Advisory Boards will then evaluate the submissions of all Finalists based on the selection criteria and choose the Science Breakthroughs of the Year. These will be announced on 16 September.
- The Science Breakthrough of the Year for the Engage and Venture categories will be revealed on 6 November during the Falling Walls Science Summit in Berlin.
- The Winners of the Women's Impact Award will be announced on 31 July via the Falling Walls newsletter and social media channels.
- The Science Breakthroughs of the Year from all categories will be invited to present their groundbreaking work live on stage in Berlin on 9 November.
We are eager to share their inspiring stories of breakthrough research with you.
Jake Brenner, University of Pennsylvania: Breaking the Wall of Therapeutic DNA Delivery
Paola Laurino, Okinawa Institute of Science & Technology Graduate University: Breaking the Wall of Ocean Microbes’ Survival Secrets
David Maresca, Delft University of Technology: Breaking the Wall of Deep Tissue Imaging
Ingo Mellinghoff, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: Breaking the Wall of Targeted Brain Tumor Therapy
Carole Mitnick, Harvard Medical School: Breaking the Wall of One-Size-Fits-All TB Treatment
Crina Nimigean, Weill Cornell Medical College: Breaking the Wall of Drugging Ion Channels
Ali R. Rezai, West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute: Breaking the Wall of Treatment for Alzheimer’s
Melina Schuh, Max Planck Institute for Multidisciplinary Sciences: Breaking the Wall of Invisible Ovulation
Ramon Sun, University of Florida: Breaking the Wall of Metabolism with 3D and AI
Peter Yingxiao Wang, University of Southern California: Breaking the Wall of Genetic Control by Sound
Athina Anastasaki, ETH Zürich: Breaking the Wall of Plastic Circularity
Henry Chapman, Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (DESY): Breaking the Wall of Observing Molecules in Action
Cathleen Crudden, Queen’s University: Breaking the Wall of Metal Instability
Claudio Emma, Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC): Breaking the Wall of Intense Particle Beams
Martin Harmer, Lehigh University: Breaking the Wall of 100 Years of Superalloys
Alexie Leauthaud-Harnett, University of California Santa Cruz: Breaking the Wall of Dark Energy
Tanja Mehlstäubler, Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt Braunschweig (PTB): Breaking the Wall of Time & Frequency Standards
Christine Muschik, Institute for Quantum Computing: Breaking the Wall of Quantum Computing with Qudits
Richard Norte, Delft University of Technology: Breaking the Wall of Miniaturization in Nanotechnology
Jian-Wei Pan, University of Science and Technology of China: Breaking the Wall of Practical Satellite QKD
Takuzo Aida, RIKEN/ The University of Tokyo: Breaking the Wall of Non-Degradable Plastics
Gopala Krishna Anumanchipalli, University of California, Berkeley HQ: Breaking the Wall of Speech Loss with Neural Implants
Zhiqin Chu, The University of Hong Kong: Breaking the Wall of Flexible Diamond Membranes
Lu Fang, Tsinghua University: Breaking the Wall of High-Power AI Needs
Cesar de la Fuente, University of Pennsylvania: Breaking the Wall of Antibiotic Discovery with AI
Shana Kelley, Northwestern University, Chan Zuckerberg Biohub Chicago: Breaking the Wall of Hidden Disease Signals
Mario Lanza, National University of Singapore: Breaking the Wall of Energy-Efficient AI
Shoji Takeuchi, The University of Tokyo: Breaking the Wall of Biohybrid Robotics
Junwang Tang, Tsinghua University: Breaking the Wall of Clean Energy Chemistry
Sihong Wang, University of Chicago: Breaking the Wall of Rejection-Free Medical Implants
Octavio Aburto, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego: Breaking the Wall of Marine Conservation Limits
Lilie Chouliaraki, London School of Economics and Political Science: Breaking the Wall of Media and Communication Ethics
Myriam Denov, McGill University: Breaking the Wall of War and its Impact on Children
Mira Johri, Université de Montréal: Breaking the Wall of Exclusion from Child Vaccination
Tim Kohler, Washington State University & Santa Fe Institute: Breaking the Walls of Prehistory
Jennifer Lackey, Northwestern University: Breaking the Wall of Epistemic Injustice
Emmanuel Letouzé, Data-Pop Alliance: Breaking the Wall of Humanitarian Action
Andreas Pondorfer, Technical University of Munich: Breaking the Wall of Misguided Social Norms
Shee Kupi Shee, Lamu County Government: Breaking the Wall of Peace Fragility in Disaster Zones
Leo Speidel, RIKEN: Breaking the Wall of History Hidden in Our DNA
Carla Alcalà Badias & Laura Villanueva, Polytechnic University of Valencia: Breaking the Wall of Microbial Prophecy
Marco Barotti, Studio Marco Barotti: Breaking the Wall of Ecological Healing through Sound
Chloe Bensahel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT): Breaking the Wall of Craft and Technology
Guillaume Castagne, fabrique POLA: Breaking the Wall of Air Pollution with Augmented Reality
Vladan Joler, University of Novi Sad, Academy of Arts: Breaking the Wall of Empires
Agnieszka Kurant: Breaking the Wall of Collective Intelligence
Xin Liu, Xin Liu Studio LTD: Breaking the Wall of Material Science & Artistic Innovation
Arnhildur Pálmadóttir & Arnar Skarphéðinsson, s. ap architects: Breaking the Wall of Lavaforming
Robertina Šebjanič, Freelance artist-researcher: Breaking the Wall of Demilitarisation of the Ocean Floor
Beatie Wolfe: Breaking the Wall of Neurobiology through Art
Eunice Adewusi, RW, Project Ayika
Grace James, NG, GreenQuest
Jessamyn Fairfield, IE, We Built This City on Rock and Coal
Jesse Hildebrand, CA, EBTSOYP Broadcasts
Kalina Marcela Fonseca Largo, EC, Open Science in Water
Karen Verstraelen, BE, Amai!
Liza Wohlfart, DE, FRANCIS
Lovro Koncar-Gamulin, AT, City Layers
Nondas Ferreira da Silva, BR, Seeds of Change
Pooja Manandhar, NP, BioSmart Women Nepal
Provides Ng, HK; Bum Suk Ko, VN; Baha Odaibat, JO, Urban Mining 2.0
Sidney-Max Etienne, HT, Grown in Haiti
Simone Montano, IT, Map the Giants
Sylvester Weekes, SL, Operation 232
Thomas Soares Mullen, PT, Science on the Walls
Allogenetics, Germany
Belfort, Belgium
BioThrust, Germany
BTRY, Switzerland
Ceal Minerals, Israel
Collimate Health, Germany
DermR Health, Australia
eleQtron, Germany
FluoRok, United Kingdom
Hera Biotech, United States of America
Lumai, United Kingdom
Mallia Therapeutics, Germany
Matnex, United Kingdom
Nat4Bio, Argentina
Neggst Foods, Germany
NurExone Biologic, Israel
o11 biomedical, Germany
Phlair, Germany
Pulsetrain, Germany
re.solution, Germany
Roofline, Germany
Scarlet Therapeutics, United Kingdom
SOLVE Chemistry, United Kingdom
TURN2X, Germany
Unbound Potential, Switzerland
Ângela Gonçalves, German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Germany
Cally Tann, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, United Kingdom
Claudia Barth, Division for Mental Health and Substance Abuse, Diakonhjemmet Hospital, Norway
Colette Wabnitz, Stanford Center for Ocean Solutions, Stanford University, and the Institute for Oceans and Fisheries, University of British Columbia, USA/Canada
Diana Koester, London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom
Gabriela Ghisi, KITE Research Institute, University Health Network, Canada
Omneya Attallah, Arab Academy for Science, Technology, and Maritime Transport (AASTMT), Egypt
Vivian Feig, Stanford University, USA
Ninadini Sharma, California Institute of Technology, USA
Sarah Bellows-Blakely, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany
