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Alfried Krupp Prize awarded to Lucas T. Jae

20 Jun 2022

For his research into the genetic and molecular foundations of mitochondrial function, the biochemist has been awarded the prestigious Alfried Krupp Prize.

Professor Lucas T. Jae | © Uwe Dettmar

With the aid of a unique screening system, Lucas T. Jae investigates the role of mitochondria in human disease processes. Mitochondria are cell organelles that are often called the “powerhouses of cells.” As they play a key role in metabolism, defects in mitochondria lead to severe, mostly incurable illnesses in humans, such as a range of hereditary metabolic disorders and myopathies, as well as age-related complaints from the domains of neurodegeneration and cardiovascular diseases. Although mitochondrial stress processes can be depicted quite well in models, we remain largely in the dark about how they work in humans.

Jae’s research focuses on mapping the genetic and molecular foundations of mitochondrial function in healthy and impaired states and uncovering their interactions, with the objective of finding new starting points for future therapies into human diseases that have their origin in impaired mitochondrial function.For his research, Professor Jae has now been awarded the Alfried Krupp Prize.



Freedom in the conduct of research and teaching

“I’m delighted that the work of my team has been awarded the Alfried Krupp Prize,” says Lucas Jae. “It’s very motivating for us that our research is gaining recognition even beyond the boundaries of the life sciences.” The generous support from the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation, explains the researcher, is an important platform precisely in times of international uncertainty and surging costs, which allows him and his team to pursue even so-called ‘high-risk, high-reward’ projects. “I would like to thank my family and friends, mentors, colleagues, and most of all my excellent research group here at LMU’s Gene Center Munich.”

The Alfried Krupp Prize has been awarded annually by the Alfried Krupp von Bohlen und Halbach Foundation since 1986 to early-career researchers in the natural or engineering sciences who hold their first professorship at a German university. It is among the most highly endowed prizes of its kind and has been granted to 41 outstanding researchers to date.

Worth one million euros in funding, the prize gives its winners freedom in the conduct of their research and teaching: For a period of five years, they can create an optimum work environment for themselves and pursue their scientific work with flexibility and independence.

Professor Lucas T. Jae and his research group

© Uwe Dettmar

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