Prestigious science prize for Sabine Liebscher

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Sabine Liebscher and her collaboration partner Caroline Rouaux received the "Prix Forcheurs Jean-Marie Lehn" research prize, awarded by the French Embassy in Germany and the Franco-German University (DFH) in cooperation with Sanofi Germany and BASF France, for their valuable research in the fight against ALS.

The award ceremony took place on 24 June at the French Embassy in Berlin. In attendance were: Jean-Marie Lehn, winner of the 1987 Nobel Prize in Chemistry and patron of the Forcheurs Prize, Emmanuel Cohet, envoy of the French Embassy in Berlin, Eva Martha Eckkrammer, President of the DFH, Heidrun Irschik-Hadjieff, CEO of Sanofi Germany, and Nicolas Naudin, President of BASF France.

This year, the event took place in the auditorium of the embassy. Prior to the award ceremony, there was a public conference on the topic of nanomedicine, which was chaired by Prof Patrick Couvreur (University of Paris-Saclay).

Since 2017, the French Embassy in Germany and the DFH, in collaboration with Sanofi Germany and BASF France, have awarded the Prix Forcheurs Jean-Marie Lehn, worth a total of 20,000 euros, annually to a Franco-German tandem of young researchers under the age of 45. The prize honours research in the fields of chemistry, biochemistry and pharmacology as well as at the interface between chemistry and health.

Molecular biologist Caroline Rouaux works at the Biomedical Research Centre of the University of Strasbourg and conducts research in the fields of neurodegeneration and neurodevelopment. Medical doctor and neurobiologist Sabine Liebscher works at the Institute of Clinical Neuroimmunology at the Biomedical Center, Ludwig Maximilian University Hospital in Munich and is an expert in imaging technologies. The collaboration between the two scientists began in 2017 on the basis of the complementary orientation of their respective fields of work and research.

The Prix Forcheurs Jean-Marie Lehn 2024 was awarded to Sabine Liebscher and Caroline Rouaux for outstanding results in the joint research project "Altered activity of the cortical network in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis as a new biomarker and therapeutic target". The research project focuses on neuronal circuit disorders in ALS, an incurable neurodegenerative disease of the nervous system. A total of 23 tandems of young scientists from German and French research institutions competed for the prestigious award. This year is also characterised by a perfect parity in the applications: 23 women and 23 men.

The evaluation and selection of the winners was carried out on 22 May by a Franco-German jury consisting of the following members: Prof. Hervé Raoul (Inserm Lyon), Prof. Janine Cossy (emeritus ESPCI), Prof. Katja Steiger (TU Munich), Prof. Burkhard Kleuser (Freie Universität Berlin), Prof. Annette Beck-Sickinger (University of Leipzig), a representative of the Franco-German University (DFH) and two representatives of the embassy as observers.

In their speeches, the organisers of the research prize emphasised the importance of exchange and cooperation between young German and French teams in the field of scientific research for European innovation and competitiveness:

Emmanuel Cohet, envoy of the French Embassy in Berlin: "We warmly congratulate the prizewinners and welcome the expansion and intensification of scientific cooperation with France's most important partner. We are delighted about the attention that the Prix Forcheurs Jean-Marie Lehn brings to outstanding Franco-German cooperation in the field of scientific research".

Eva-Martha Eckkrammer, President of the DFH: "We are delighted with the high number and outstanding quality of the applications received this year. Global health issues are also a research focus at the DFH. We congratulate Sabine Liebscher and Caroline Rouaux, who as women are also role models for young female researchers in the field of research and teaching".

Sabine Liebscher and Caroline Rouaux: "We would like to thank the organisers of the research prize - also on behalf of our scientific teams - for the prestigious award. We were delighted to be able to report on our scientific findings on amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an incurable disease that is still far too little known to the public".

Source: Press release from Deutsch-Französische Hochschule