Kowalinski has a long history with EMBL and with research on the interplay of protein complexes with RNA molecules. She first arrived in 2006 for her PhD, focusing on gaining a deeper understanding of how viral RNA activates the innate immune pattern-recognition receptor RIG-I. After a period at the Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry, Munich, she returned to EMBL’s Grenoble site in 2017 as a Group Leader, continuing her exploration of the fundamental relationships between proteins and RNA.
“I can speak for both of us when I say that the Prix Forcheurs Jean-Marie Lehn is a great honour for us,” Kowalinski said. “Science needs cross-cultural exchange, and I am glad that we live in a Europe where such exchange is encouraged and made so easily possible. Our two teams complement each other perfectly, and we are united by the goal of discovering novel active agents against very common types of cancer.”
Stefanie and Eva recently deciphered how METTL6, an enzyme that plays an important role in many biological processes, including tumour cell growth, binds to RNA. This led to a joint publication on the enzyme’s structure in complex with its cofactors. Their current goal is to harness the potential of METTL6 and a family of related proteins as drug targets, given that members of this enzyme family play significant roles in cancers, as well as metabolic and neurological diseases.
From left to right: François Delattre (Ambassade de France), Christina Gommlich (BASF), laureates Stefanie Kaiser (Goethe-Universität Frankfurt) and Eva Kowalinski (EMBL Grenoble), Jean-Marie Lehn (1987 Chemistry Nobel Prize winner and the eponymous patron of the prize), Antoine Triller (Académie des Sciences), Christian Lerche (Sanofi), and Eva Martha Eckkrammer (UFA) at the Forcheurs Prize ceremony in Berlin. Copyright: Ambassade de France en Allemagne
