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Dr. Verena Cmentowski from the laboratory of Prof. Andrea Musacchio at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology, Dortmund, has been awarded the 2026 Bayer Pharmaceuticals Doctoral Award of the German Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (GBM e.V.). The prize, endowed with €1,500, recognizes her outstanding doctoral thesis entitled “Dissecting the molecular mechanisms of corona assembly and CENP-E kinetochore recruitment”. Dr. Cmentowski received the award on March 26 as part of the 77th Mosbach Kolloquium of the GBM and presented her work in a short lecture.
In her doctoral research, Verena Cmentowski addressed a central question of cell division: How does the so-called kinetochore corona, a transient yet indispensable protein network required for the accurate segregation of chromosomes, arise? This structure forms only at the onset of mitosis and ensures that chromosomes are precisely aligned and subsequently separated correctly. Dr. Cmentowski demonstrated that the motor protein CENP-E, which moves along spindle fibers, plays a far more fundamental role than previously assumed. Rather than merely influencing chromosome alignment, CENP-E actively contributes to the assembly of the corona—an insight that significantly advances the current understanding of this structure.
Additionally, she showed that the assembly of the corona is governed by only two central initiation sites within the kinetochore. Of particular importance is the enzyme BUB1, previously known primarily for its role in cell cycle control and also recognized for its involvement in cancer development. Dr. Cmentowski was able to demonstrate that several key protein complexes—including components of the corona as well as proteins of the mitotic checkpoint—compete for the same binding site on BUB1. This competition constitutes a crucial mechanism for preventing errors in chromosome segregation. Her findings provide a clearer understanding of how cell division is safeguarded and how disruptions in this process can lead to severe developmental defects or cancer.
Verena Cmentowski studied Medical Biology at the University of Duisburg-Essen (B.Sc. and M.Sc.). Following a research stay at the University of California, Berkeley, she completed her doctorate at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Physiology in Dortmund. Since 2025, she has been working as a scientist at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology (LMB) in Cambridge, UK.
Katharina Hieke-Kubatzky
Dr. V. Cmentowski
Copyright: V. Cmentowski
Award Ceremony at the 77. Mosbacher Kolloquium
Copyright: K. Kubatzky
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