Hartwig Piepenbrock-DZNE Award honors research on brain disorders

L to R: Prof. Pierluigi Nicotera, Dr. Sabine Helling-Moegen, Prof. Christian Haass, State Secretary Thomas Romes, Prof. Michel Goedert, Olaf Piepenbrock, Arnulf Piepenbrock, and Mayor Melanie Grabowy. Source: DZNE / Hausmann

On this Monday, the neuroscientist Michel Goedert from Cambridge, UK, received the "Hartwig Piepenbrock-DZNE Award" endowed with 60,000 euros. The award ceremony took place at the Federal Art and Exhibition Hall in Bonn in the presence of Thomas Romes, Director of the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF). Goedert was honored for his groundbreaking insights into the molecular mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. The native Luxembourger conducts research at the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. The award is jointly presented by the Piepenbrock Group and the DZNE.

"Michel Goedert is a scientific pioneer who has significantly contributed to our understanding of the mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases. His findings on protein aggregates, as they occur in Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and other brain diseases, are groundbreaking. These works provide deep insights into the development of these diseases and are instrumental in the search for better therapies. Such research is urgently needed, as there are currently no cures for neurodegeneration," said Professor Pierluigi Nicotera, Chairman of the DZNE.

Promoting Public Discussion

"With the Hartwig Piepenbrock-DZNE Award, we want to highlight outstanding research results on Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases and honor the scientists behind them," said Olaf Piepenbrock, Managing Partner of the eponymous group of companies. "But public discussion is also important to us. We want to talk about dementia. In society and together with patients and relatives. Because neurodegenerative diseases entail enormous physical and psychological burdens. In addition to supporting top-level research, we see our task as ensuring a better understanding of the needs of people with Alzheimer's and their families."

Award for Cutting-Edge Research

Since 2011, the "Hartwig Piepenbrock-DZNE Prize" has awarded outstanding research on neurodegenerative diseases every two years. These diseases—including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)—are characterized by dysfunction and loss of nerve cells. Possible consequences include dementia, movement disorders, and other severe health impairments. To date, there are no cures. The prize is sponsored by the Piepenbrock Group and awarded in memory of its former managing partner, Hartwig Piepenbrock, who passed away due to dementia. He was actively involved in art, science, and society for many years. The selection of the awardees is carried out by an international committee coordinated by DZNE. On this occasion, the award was presented for the sixth time.

About the Awardee

Michel Goedert was born in Luxembourg in 1954. He studied medicine in Basel and earned his doctorate in pharmacology at the University of Cambridge, UK. In 1984, he became a postdoctoral researcher at the Medical Research Council (MRC) Laboratory of Molecular Biology in Cambridge. Since 1988, he has been a "Programme Leader" there. His research interests focus on the mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases, especially proteins that naturally occur in humans but accumulate abnormally in the brains of patients. In this context, Goedert has studied the so-called Tau protein and the protein "Alpha-Synuclein".

Tau proteins normally stabilize transport pathways within nerve cells. In Alzheimer's and several other brain diseases, however, Tau proteins detach from the cell framework and clump together, forming insoluble aggregates. Goedert made significant contributions to understanding this phenomenon by demonstrating that Tau proteins are a key component of the filamentous deposits found in the brains of people with Alzheimer's. He also identified gene mutations that lead to faulty Tau proteins and ultimately to dementia. His studies further provided evidence that Tau aggregates can spread in the brain through a chain reaction, with new aggregates continuously forming.

Furthermore, Goedert was able to demonstrate that the protein Alpha-Synuclein is the main component of microscopic deposits found in the brains of people with Parkinson's, Lewy body dementia, and multisystem atrophy. His research also yielded important insights into the molecular structure of Alpha-Synuclein aggregates and—similar to Tau proteins—evidence that these aggregates can gradually spread through the brain, contributing to disease progression.