Anna Erzberger receives Suzanne Eaton ‘Rising Star’ Award
The EMBL Group Leader received the award for her team's contributions to understanding the physics of living systems.
Credit: Joseph Franciosa/EMBL
Anna Erzberger, Group Leader at EMBL Heidelberg, has received the Inaugural Suzanne Eaton ‘Rising Star’ Award for Physics of Life in 2026. The award recognises her contributions to understanding the fundamental physical principles that underlie the functioning of living systems, which her lab studies with the help of innovative theoretical approaches.
The Suzanne Eaton Awards for Physics of Life were created by the Physics of Life (PoL) Excellence Cluster at TU Dresden. These are meant to recognise outstanding contributions to the field of Physics of Living Systems, as well as to honour the life and work of Suzanne Eaton, who was a pioneer in this field and a central figure in establishing Physics of Life.
The award consists of both a medal and a cash prize and will be presented at the Physics of Life Annual Meeting in Dresden on 19—20 November 2026.
“I’m deeply honoured to receive this award, especially because Suzanne Eaton was such an important pioneer of the physics–biology interface and a major inspiration for my own scientific perspective,” said Erzberger.
