Pioneering research on Alzheimer's: "Hartwig Piepenbrock-DZNE Prize" awarded

Award ceremony of the "Hartwig Piepenbrock-DZNE Award 2023" (from left to right): Arnulf Piepenbrock (Managing Partner of the Piepenbrock Group), Alison Goate (Award Winner), Olaf Piepenbrock (Managing Partner of the Piepenbrock Group), Pierluigi Nicotera (Chairman of the DZNE), Sabine Helling-Mögen (Administrative Board Member of the DZNE). (Image: DZNE/Kurda)

On this Monday, British neuroscientist Alison Goate received the "Hartwig Piepenbrock-DZNE Award," endowed with 60,000 euros. She was recognized for her groundbreaking research on Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia. Goate is a professor in the USA at the "Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai," a renowned university in New York City. The award was established in 2011 by the Piepenbrock Group and the DZNE. This year's award ceremony took place at the DZNE on Bonn's Venusberg campus.

"Alison Goate is an expert in the genetics of dementia diseases and has been a driving force in this research field for many years," says Professor Pierluigi Nicotera, Chairman of the DZNE. "Her research has provided important insights into the pathology of dementia and contributed to the development of novel drugs, such as anti-amyloid agents."

"Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases need more public awareness and conscious perception. We support this with the Hartwig Piepenbrock-DZNE Award," says Olaf Piepenbrock, Managing Partner of the eponymous corporate group. "Scientists make an important contribution and thus lay the foundation for new possibilities in prevention and treatment. Neurodegenerative diseases entail enormous physical and psychological burdens—not only for patients but also for their caregiving relatives. It is important to us to bring Alzheimer's and other neurodegenerative diseases into public discussion and to create a better understanding of the needs of those affected and their family members."

Award for Top Research

Since 2011, the "Hartwig Piepenbrock-DZNE Award" has recognized outstanding research on neurodegenerative diseases every two years. These diseases—including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS)—are characterized by dysfunctions and the loss of nerve cells. Possible consequences include dementia, movement disorders, and other serious health impairments. To date, there is no cure. The award is funded by the Piepenbrock Group and is given in memory of its former managing partner, Hartwig Piepenbrock, who passed away due to the effects of dementia. He was actively engaged in art, science, and society for many years. The selection of awardees is made by an international committee coordinated by the DZNE. On this occasion, the award was presented for the seventh time:

https://www.dzne.de/aktuelles/preise-und-auszeichnungen/hartwig-piepenbrock-dzne-preis/

About the Awardee

Alison Goate was born in the United Kingdom and studied at the University of Bristol and the University of Oxford. From 1992 to 2014, she worked at Washington University in St. Louis (USA), before moving in 2015 to the "Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai" in New York City, where she is still active today. She is a professor and founding director of the "Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's Disease." Her research focuses on genetic factors relevant to neurodegenerative diseases. Goate was the first to discover a gene variant—a so-called mutation—that leads to Alzheimer's. Over the years, she identified additional mutations relevant to Alzheimer's and those involved in frontotemporal dementia. Furthermore, Goate's research findings provide important foundations for the development of new drugs, including so-called anti-amyloid agents, which have already been approved in the USA for the treatment of Alzheimer's.