• The Governing Mayor Berlin, Michael Müller, with the winners of the Wissenschaftspreis 2020

    Credit: Lars Hübner

    26.07.2021

    Berliner Wissenschaftspreis 2020 for Christian Drosten

Brain City Ambassador Professor Dr. Christian Drosten has been awarded the Berliner Wissenschaftspreis 2020 for his outstanding research achievements. The Nachwuchspreis 2020 went to the paediatric oncologist Dr. med. Anton G. Henssen. 

The Berliner Wissenschaftspreis is considered to be the most important science award in the State of Berlin. It was awarded last week, as due to the pandemic, the award ceremony had been postponed from September 2020 to July 2021. Professor Dr. Christian Drosten of Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin was awarded the Berliner Wissenschaftspreis 2020. The virologist has been honoured for his outstanding research work on epidemic lung infections as well as his dedicated contribution to pandemic prevention and international health safety. At the award ceremony in the Rotes Rathaus, the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Michael Müller, emphasised both the excellent research work and the exemplary commitment of the Brain City Ambassador in science communication. “Explaining research findings beyond the specialist community and making the processes of knowledge acquisition understandable is of central importance for our success in the fight against the corona virus. Professor Christian Drosten is an outstanding ambassador for Berlin as a location for innovation and contributes considerably to the international visibility of our city.” The 40,000 Euro science prize is awarded annually and honours outstanding research achievements that have arisen in the capital. The prize money goes to the institution of the award winner.

The Nachwuchspreis 2020 went to PD Dr. med. Anton G. Henssen. The paediatric oncologist has been working since the end of 2018 at the Berlin Experimental and Clinical Research Centre (ECRC), a joint facility of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine in the Helmholtz Association (MDC) and the Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin. “With his pioneering research, he is laying the foundations for us to achieve new breakthroughs in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer in children,” said Müller. Henssen’s work is ideally embedded in the scientific environment of the capital region and is an excellent example of the effect of application-oriented research. With their work, both award winners showed “how strong Berlin science is and that is what our city can rightly be proud of.” The Nachwuchspreis, endowed with 10,000 Euro, goes to the award winner himself and honours a particularly innovative research approach in a Berlin field of the future.

Both winners were selected by the jury in September 2020. The Berliner Wissenschaftspreis is traditionally presented in November. (vdo)

Brain City Ambassador Prof. Dr. Christian Drosten in an interview (March 2020)
Coronavirus podcast with Prof. Dr. Christian Drosten on NDR info  (German only)

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