EMBL: Postdoc, Saraste Group, Structural and Computational Biology, 1990-1992.
2020: Professor, Wageningen University & Research, Wageningen, the Netherlands

“While studying anti-virus defense strategies of bacteria, my team discovered that CRISPR-Cas and Argonaute systems target DNA, that their specificity can easily be adjusted, and that they can be functionally transplanted to other organisms. This is a beautiful example of the rapid translation of a bacterial genetics project to genome editing applications, ranging from biotechnology to human gene therapy. I feel privileged to have participated in this adventure. Moreover, thirty years after meeting Lennart Philipson at EMBL, it is a great honor to receive the award with his name.”

Announcement of winner: March 2020

EMBL: Predoc, Huttner Group, Cell Biology and Biophysics, 1986-1987.
2019: Executive Partner, MPM Capital, Cambridge MA, USA

“Our own T cells have a unique potential to cure cancer. I was fortunate to help develop a novel therapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia that works by enabling a patient’s T lymphocytes to connect to its cancer cells and kill them in a unique fashion. This drug is called Blincyto and is on the market since 2015. It contributes to a recent revolution in cancer therapy referred to as immuno-oncology. I highly appreciate the role EMBL played in my career path ultimately making me a drug developer and serial entrepreneur.”

Announcement of winner: February 2019

EMBL: Postdoc, Cortese Group, Genome Biology, 1988-1990.
2018: Head of Virology, Institute for Molecular Genetics, Milan, Italy.

“In the early ‘90s, the inability to propagate HCV in the laboratory was seen as a major obstacle to the identification of specific antivirals. Our discoveries of the NS3/4A protease and NS5B polymerase allowed the scientific community to start looking for inhibitors of these key viral enzymes long before we were able to work with the actual virus. The time I spent as a postdoc at EMBL, surrounded by great scientists working in a highly collaborative spirit, was very inspiring and taught me how to always use a multidisciplinary approach to address complex scientific problems.”

Announcement of winner: March 2018

EMBL: Group Leader, Instrumentation, 1992-1998.
2017: Director, Department of Proteomics and Signal Transduction, Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Germany and
Program Director, the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, University of Copenhagen.

“Mass spectrometry has become an indispensable tool in molecular biology and this could not have happened without the fantastic environment at EMBL. My group greatly benefited from the unique concentration of skills, resources, personalities and ambition that characterised the place then and now. I am very happy that we succeeded in making first mass spectrometry and then proteomics a viable part of the tool kit for biologists and I am especially grateful for Lennart Philipson’s unwavering support of this initially exotic technology and of our group. ”

Announcement of winner: March 2017

EMBL: Group Leader, Cell Biology and Biophysics, 1983-2011.
2016: Professor in the Life Sciences Department (FB15, IZN) and the Buchmann Institute for Molecular Life Sciences (BMLS) at Goethe University, Frankfurt am Main, Germany.

“Light sheet-based fluorescence microscopy is the result of more than 25 years of hard work. It is also an excellent story of a suitable environment that can apply results of research in physics. As a member of several Units, I saw the limits of “flat biology”, the challenges of maintaining a specimen’s three-dimensionality and the necessity for time-lapse imaging. But, I also had the resources to tackle challenges in a biological manner”.

Announcement of winner: January 2016