Prizes and Awards

Each year, our scientists are honored with a number of prestigious prizes, awards, and medals for their achievements in a variety of scientific disciplines. See a selection here.

Prizes and Awards

  • German Cancer Research Center

    Shield against metastases and genetically protected CAR-T cells: Double honor for Mirco Julian Friedrich

    Physician and cancer researcher Mirco Julian Friedrich from the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), the stem cell research institute HI-STEM*, and Heidelberg University Hospital (UKHD) has received two awards for two independent research projects: The Beug Foundation has honored his novel approach to preventing liver metastases with the Metastasis Prize 2025. The Kind-Philipp…
  • GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung

    Christoph-Schmelzer Award presented to two young researchers

    Two young researchers have been awarded this year’s Christoph Schmelzer Prize: Dr. Cristina Totis from the Technical University of Darmstadt and Dr. Stefanie Bertschi from the Technical University of Dresden were honored for their outstanding doctoral theses. The award, presented annually by the Association for the Promotion of Tumor Therapy with Heavy Ions, recognizes…
  • Forschungszentrum Jülich

    Dr. Anja Meier Receives the Excellence Prize for Advancing a Method Analysing Molecules

    Forschungszentrum Jülich has awarded Dr Anja Meier its Excellence Prize. As part of her doctoral thesis, the chemist made a significant contribution to advancing photoemission orbital tomography (POT). This technology now allows the chemical properties of molecules to be analysed in much greater detail and is also more versatile than before.
  • Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research

    Mannich Medal for Rolf Müller

    Rolf Müller's research focuses on discovering and developing innovative active substances to combat antimicrobial resistance, which is one of the greatest challenges facing modern medicine. He and his team use natural products from soil bacteria, particularly the unusual myxobacteria, as the basis for developing such molecules. Over the course of his career, Müller has…
  • Helmholtz Munich

    Zeynep Akata Receives 2025 ZukunftsWissen Award

    Professor Zeynep Akata has been awarded the 2025 ZukunftsWissen Prize by the German National Academy of Sciences Leopoldina and the Commerzbank Foundation in recognition of her outstanding scientific contributions. The €50,000 award was presented on September 25, 2025, in Halle (Saale) as part of the Leopoldina’s Annual Assembly, which this year focuses on the topic of…
  • Forschungszentrum Jülich

    Casey Paquola Receives “For Women in Science Award”

    Dr. Casey Paquola will be honored with the “For Women in Science” award. The computational neuroscientist from Forschungszentrum Jülich is one of four early-career researchers to receive the €25,000 prize this year, awarded by L’Oréal, the German UNESCO Commission, and the German Humboldt Network.

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