Prof. Dr. Matthias Barz studied chemistry at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz and Seoul National University, earning his PhD in polymer chemistry (summa cum laude) in 2010. Following postdoctoral research at CIPF (Spain) and Boston Children's Hospital (USA), he established his independent research group in Mainz in 2013 and completed his habilitation in 2017. Since 2020, he has been Professor of BioTherapeutic Delivery at the Leiden Academic Centre for Drug Research (LACDR), where he leads the Division of BioTherapeutics.His research focuses on metabolizable nanomedicines, including polypept(o)ides, polymers combining polypeptides with the polypeptoid polysarcosine, and polysarcosine-based lipids for lipid based drug formulations, cancer immunotherapy, autoimmune diseases, and antibacterial applications. He has published over 150 scientific articles and is inventor on more than 10 patents, several licensed to companies including BioNTech and Curapath. He has secured funding from the European Commission, DFG, NWO, industry, and foundations, including the NWO Vici grant (2025). Prof. Barz serves on several editorial boards, acts as scientific advisor to Curapath, and is founder and CEO of PeptoTherapeutics B.V.