Cenix co-founder Anthony Hyman receives EMBO Gold Medal 2003

Prof. Dr. Anthony Hyman, co-founder of Cenix BioScience and currently group leader and director at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG, Dresden) is this year’s winner of the 2003 EMBO Gold Medal. This prestigious prize is awarded by EMBO in recognition of his outstanding work on understanding the mechanisms and components involved in the division of living cells. He received this award at the EMBO Members Meeting "Frontiers of Molecular Biology" held in Killarney, Ireland, on October 17, 2003.

"To me, being awarded this prize reflects the opinion of my peers about my scientific work,” said Hyman shortly after being notified “and therefore feels like a real accomplishment".

The EMBO Gold Medal highlights the quality of European molecular biology performed by young research scientists. It is awarded annually to a European scientist under 40 years of age. The medal has been awarded to many illustrious recipients in the past. It brings the high-quality work of young European scientists to the attention of a worldwide audience. In this way the EMBO Gold Medal acts as an indicator of standards achieved by European scientists. The awardee is also honoured as being a role model for scientists in Europe.


About Prof. Dr. Anthony Hyman
With over 70 publications in leading journals including Nature, Science and Cell, Prof. Dr. Hyman is a recognized world leader in the study of animal cell division, and particularly on the role of microtubule based processes therein. He began this work during his Ph.D. in Biology/Zoology at Cambridge University, Kings College (1988), where he completed landmark research on the early stages of embryogenesis in C. elegans. He then turned to mammalian cells and in vitro systems during his post-doctoral work with Dr. Tim Mitchison at the University of California-San Francisco (1988-1993), before expanding to the combined use of multiple experimental systems including yeast, C. elegans, Xenopus, and in vitro assays as a group leader at the EMBL (Heidelberg, 1993-1998). Since 1998, he continues this world leading research as a group leader and director at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics (MPI-CBG, Dresden). In 1999, Prof. Dr. Hyman co-founded Cenix BioScience with Drs. Christophe Echeverri and Pierre Gönczy, as the very first RNAi-focused biotechnology company.

About the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics
The Max Planck Society is Germany´s leading non-profit research organization promoting first and foremost basic research in its institutes. By founding the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics in Dresden, the Max Planck Society responded to a new challenge in biological research: molecular cell biology in the post-genomic era. The institute and it’s 20 international research groups have developed a research program broad enough to cover most aspects of cellular organization so that the research themes together provide a comprehensive view of cell structure and function in both the developing and adult organism. Please visit the institute’s web site www.mpi-cbg.de for more information.

About EMBO
The European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) was established in 1964 with the aim to promote biosciences in Europe. Subsidiary to that general aim were concepts such as the development of a strong trans-national approach to molecular biology, the identification of measures that can assist in the training of scientists in this area and the emphasis on scientific criteria for all of its activities. The organization is bicameral: its actions are funded by contributions from 24 Member States, which together form the European Molecular Biology Conference (EMBC). The EMBO itself is composed of more than 1100 scientists, including 36 Nobel Prize laureates who have been selected by existing members on the basis of their excellence in research in the many different areas of molecular biology. Please visit the organization’s web site www.embo.org for more information.


Contact:
For Dr. Anthony Hyman:
Ellen Fuerst, Public Relations, Cenix Bioscience GmbH, Tel. +49-351-210-2511, fuerst@cenix-bioscience.com