Award for Groundbreaking Research in the Field of Synthetic Biology
Hector RCD Awardee Prof. Dr. Kerstin Göpfrich will receive the Alfried Krupp Prize 2024, one of the most prestigious scientific awards in Germany. The Alfried Krupp Prize has been awarded annually since 1986 to young scientists who hold a first professorship at a German university in the natural sciences or engineering. The prize, which is endowed with €1 million, gives the recipients freedom in research and teaching for a period of five years.
Kerstin Göpfrich has been a professor at the Center for Molecular Biology at the University of Heidelberg since November 2022. She also heads the Biophysical Engineering Research Group at the Max Planck Institute for Medical Research in Heidelberg. In addition, she is a Principal Investigator in the Cluster of Excellence "3D Matter Made to Order" at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and Heidelberg University, and a Fellow of the Max Planck School "Matter to Life".
Her research focuses on the construction of artificial cells from customized components to open up new ways of describing and harnessing life processes. Göpfrich uses DNA/RNA nanotechnology to create functional components that endow artificial cells with life-like properties. Her goal is to develop an artificial model of a living cell that will expand our understanding of the origin and function of life.