Özlem Türeci is co-founder and chief medical officer of BioNTech and a physician, immunologist, and cancer researcher. At BioNTech, she leads the clinical development of Project Lightspeed, the company’s successful effort to develop and distribute an mRNA-based vaccine against COVID-19, completed in less than one year. Türeci has helped lead the discovery of cancer antigens, the development of mRNA-based vaccine candidates and other immunotherapies currently in clinical development. Previously, she was CEO and chief medical officer of Ganymed Pharmaceuticals, which she also co-founded and which was acquired by Astellas in 2016. Türeci is president of the Association for Cancer Immunotherapy in Germany and a recipient of the German Sustainability Award, among other recognitions.