Peter Hegemann receives the Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize 2022 of the Columbia University
Neuroscientist and Hector Fellow Peter Hegemann, together with Karl Deisseroth and Gero Miesenböck, will receive Columbia University's Louisa Gross Horwitz Prize 2022. The three scientists are being honored for research that laid the foundation for the field of optogenetics. The prize will be presented in New York City on February 16, 2023.
Peter Hegemann, PhD, is Hertie Professor of Neuroscience at the Institute of Biology and Experimental Biophysics at Humboldt University. Hegemann graduated in chemistry from the University of Münster and LMU Munich and received his PhD from the Max Planck Institute for Biochemistry, Martinsried. He has received several awards for his pioneering work in the field of optogenetics, including the Lasker Awards in 2021, which is considered the most prestigious prize for biomedical research in the United States. Peter Hegemann is member of the Hector Fellow Academy since 2015.
Optogenetics has revolutionized the study of the nervous system, helping to understand how the brain's circuits control behaviors such as learning, sleep, vision, addiction and movement, and has increased the potential for treating diseases such as epilepsy, spinal cord injury, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease.
Congratulations Peter Hegemann!