On October 1st, the German Chemical Society (GDCh) will award Professor Dr. Andreas Marx of Friedrich Schiller University Jena with the Albrecht-Kossel Award. He will receive the prize, worth 7,500 euros, for his groundbreaking contributions to chemical biology. The award ceremony will take place as part of the “Biochemistry 2024” Conference of the GDCh Division of Biochemistry, which will be held in Dortmund from September 30th to October 2nd under the theme “New Frontiers in Chemical Biology and Biochemistry.”
Andreas Marx is recognized as a world-leading scientist in the fields of biochemistry and chemical biology. His research has made significant contributions to the understanding of protein-nucleic acid interactions. Marx impressed the selection committee with his outstanding work on the functions of DNA, RNA, and proteins, which has provided valuable insights into DNA polymerases, RNA ligases, and post-translational protein modifications. The committee highlighted Marx’s work as a prime example of the symbiosis between various scientific disciplines in the molecular life sciences.
Born in 1968, Andreas Marx studied chemistry in Freiburg, Sussex (UK), and Bonn. After graduating from Ruhr University Bochum in 1994, he completed his doctorate at the University of Basel in 1997. He then spent time as a postdoctoral researcher at Nagoya University in Japan before joining the Kekulé Institute for Organic Chemistry and Biochemistry at Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn as a group leader in 1999. Marx habilitated in organic chemistry and biochemistry in 2003 and was appointed professor to the Chair of Organic Chemistry / Cellular Chemistry at the University of Konstanz in 2004. Since August 2024, Marx has served as President of Friedrich Schiller University Jena. Among his numerous accolades, he has been awarded two ERC Advanced Grants for his research.
