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Nachrichten, Termine, Experten
Biochemist and physician Dr. Leif S. Ludwig (40) from the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) and the Max Delbrück Center has been named a recipient of the 2023 Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize, as the German Research Foundation (DFG) announced yesterday. A total of ten scientists will be recognized with the award, valued at €200,000 each, which they can use over three years to advance their research. The prizes will be awarded on October 16, 2023, in Berlin.
Dr. Leif S. Ludwig heads the Stem Cell Dynamics and Mitochondrial Genomics Group at the BIH and Max Delbrück Center. He is particularly interested in the mitochondria – the cells’ power plants that generate the energy needed for muscle cells to contract, nerve cells to transmit signals, and immune cells to ward off pathogens. “Mitochondria are vital and unique cellular components,” says Ludwig, describing his field of research. “What’s especially exciting for us is that they have their own genome. Mutations – errors in the DNA sequence – can occur here, and some of these can cause severe diseases. Single mutations, on the other hand, allow us to trace the lineage of cells. That’s what makes them so interesting for our research.”
The DFG cited the following reasons for its decision: Leif Ludwig, who holds a doctorate in both biochemistry and medicine, is already leaving his mark on a wide field of research. He and his laboratory are developing single-cell sequencing technologies to answer central questions in stem cell biology and the biology of the mitochondrial genome. As a postdoctoral researcher, he studied so-called cellular heterogeneity and looked at how cells are related to each other. Heterogeneity arises from variations in the genome of cells as they move from a less specialized to a more specialized cell type during differentiation. Ludwig has successfully used new approaches to answer questions about cellular heterogeneity, thus contributing significantly to the further development of personalized medicine. His work also helps advance efforts to map the properties of human cells, such as those by the Human Cell Atlas initiative.
Prof. Christopher Baum, Chair of the BIH Board of Directors and Charité’s Chief Translational Research Officer, congratulated the prize winner, saying: “This is a very special award, and we are proud to count this exceptional scientist among our ranks. Together with Charité and the Max Delbrück Center, we are creating an ideal environment for his excellent work. We are extremely pleased for Leif Ludwig and are looking forward to his future accomplishments. For the sake of patients, we of course hope that his research will soon be translated into health benefits.”
About Leif Ludwig
Beginning in 2003, Dr. Leif Si-Hun Ludwig studied biochemistry at Freie Universität Berlin and then human medicine at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin. As a doctoral candidate in biochemistry, he conducted research at the Whitehead Institute of Biomedical Research from 2011 to 2015 and as a postdoctoral researcher at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard from 2016 to 2020, both in Cambridge, Massachusetts, in the United States. Since November 2020, he has been an Emmy Noether Group Leader in the joint focus area “Single-Cell Approaches for Personalized Medicine” of the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) and the Berlin Institute for Medical Systems Biology of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC-BIMSB). His laboratory is based at MDC-BIMSB. Ludwig has received multiple awards for his research, including the Hector Research Career Development Award in 2021 and the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize for Young Researchers in March of this year.
The award ceremony will be held on October 16, 2023, in Berlin.
Further information about Leif Ludwig
Ludwig Lab at the BIH: https://www.bihealth.org/en/research/research-group/stem-cell-dynamics-mitochond...
Press release about the Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize: https://www.bihealth.org/en/notices/pioneering-method-for-stem-cell-diagnostics-...
3 questions for Leif Ludwig (in German only): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4dOzxNMmFk
Contact
Dr. Stefanie Seltmann
Head of Communications, Press Spokesperson
Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH)
+49 (0) 30 450 543019
stefanie.seltmann@bih-charite.de
https://www.bihealth.org/
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About the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH)
The mission of the Berlin Institute of Health at Charité (BIH) is medical translation: transferring biomedical research findings into novel approaches to personalized prediction, prevention, diagnostics and therapies and, conversely, using clinical observations to develop new research ideas. The aim is to deliver relevant medical benefits to patients and the population at large. As the translational research unit within Charité, the BIH is also committed to establishing a comprehensive translational ecosystem – one that places emphasis on a system-wide understanding of health and disease and that promotes change in the biomedical translational research culture. The BIH was founded in 2013 and is funded 90 percent by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and 10 percent by the State of Berlin. The founding institutions, Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin and Max Delbrück Center, were independent member entities within the BIH until 2020. Since 2021 the BIH has been integrated into Charité as its so-called third pillar. The Max Delbrück Center is now the Privileged Partner of the BIH.
About Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin
Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin is one of the largest university hospitals in Europe, boasting 3,099 beds and more than 100 departments and institutes spread across 4 separate campuses. At Charité, the areas of research, teaching and medical care are closely interlinked. With a total of around 21,600 members of staff employed across its group of companies (some 18,200 of which at Charité), the organization is one of the largest employers in Berlin. More than 5,000 of its employees work in the field of nursing, with a further 5,200 in research and medical care and another 1,300 in administration. Last year, Charité treated more than 126,000 in- and day case patients, in addition to around 736,900 outpatients. In 2022, Charité recorded a turnover of approximately €2.3 billion (including external funding and investment grants) and set a new record by securing some €284 million in external funding. Charité’s Medical Faculty is one of the largest in Germany, educating and training more than 9,500 students across the subjects of medicine, dentistry, health sciences and nursing. Charité also offers more than 800 training positions across 12 different health care professions and 8 further professions.
https://www.bihealth.org/en/notices/stem-cells-single-cell-analysis-and-cellular... To the current press release
3 questions for Leif Ludwig (Video, in German only)
Portrait Dr. Dr. Leif S. Ludwig
Thomas Rafalzyk
BIH/Thomas Rafalzyk
Merkmale dieser Pressemitteilung:
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Biologie, Chemie, Medizin
überregional
Wettbewerbe / Auszeichnungen
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Portrait Dr. Dr. Leif S. Ludwig
Thomas Rafalzyk
BIH/Thomas Rafalzyk
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