Susan Lindquist receives Otto Warburg Medal
MOSBACH, Germany (March 27, 2008) – Whitehead Member Susan Lindquist has been awarded the Otto Warburg Medal by the German Association of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
The medal, now sponsored with prize money of 25, 000 euros by QIAGEN, has been awarded annually since 1963. It is regarded as the most prestigious prize in biochemistry in Germany. Seven recipients subsequently received the Nobel Prize.
“Susan Lindquist’s findings in the field of protein folding are groundbreaking,” said Professor Alfred Wittinghofer, association president. |
The award recognizes Lindquist, also a professor of biology at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and an investigator at Howard Hughes Medical Institute, for her research in protein folding.
“Susan Lindquist’s findings in the field of protein folding are groundbreaking,” said Professor Alfred Wittinghofer, association president. “It is only because of her outstanding research that we understand today many human and animal diseases such as mad cow disease. If one day these severe diseases can be cured, Susan’s research will have been a crucial contributing factor.”
Lindquist’s lab has studied dysfunctions in the folding of protein structures that have profound influence on the development of human diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and mad cow. She and colleagues have developed yeast strains that serve as living test tubes in which some of these disorders can be studied.
Last year, the Otto Warburg Medal was bestowed upon Robert Weinberg, Whitehead Member and professor of biology at MIT.
The German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology is the country’s largest professional association for the life sciences. With almost 5,500 members, it is committed to serving the interests of all those working and researching in the dynamic and promising disciplines of chemistry, medicine and biology.
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