Annette Beck-Sickinger honoured for significant research achievements

The prize, which is jointly sponsored by four scientific societies - DECHEMA, DPhG, GBM and GDCh - is awarded by the joint Chemical Biology Division. The prize money amounts to 6,000 euros. The award was presented at the Advances in Chemical Biology conference on 24 January 2023.

Prof. Dr Annette G. Beck-Sickinger has advanced important areas of chemical biology, particularly through her research on peptide-protein interactions, according to the announcement of the jury. Her research topics ranged from investigations into the interaction of peptide and protein ligands with G protein-coupled receptors, their modulation and elucidation of the mechanisms of action, to the development of therapeutic peptides and proteins for the treatment of metabolic diseases, in tumour therapy and in pain research. She also investigates the chemical modification of proteins for the molecular characterisation of their function, the selective immobilisation of proteins on surfaces and the development of novel biomaterials through functional coatings. The award winner is also characterised by her extraordinary commitment to sustainably promoting the discipline of chemical biology in scientific discourse, teaching and society.

Beck-Sickinger has been Professor of Bioorganic Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Leipzig since 1997. Since 2020, she has been the spokesperson for the SFB1423 „Structural dynamics of GPCR activation and signalling“. She has been honoured with various awards, including the Leonidas Zervas Award of the European Peptide Society (2020), the Gold Medal of the Max Bergmann Circle and the Albrecht Kossel Prize of the German Chemical Society (2018). In 2017, she received the Order of Merit of the State of Saxony.

Source: Press release Universität Leipzig from 25 January 2023