Announcement of Winners: 2022 Otto Bayer Award, Early Excellence in Science Awards & Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker Award
With our awards we recognize the outstanding paradigm-shifting contributions of world leading experts and highlight outstanding young scientists with the potential to transform their fields.
This recognition is designed to not only reward their past achievements but to bring the inspiring discoveries and unique skills of these brilliant people to a diverse audience of scientists, innovators, and society. By sharing knowledge and expertise widely, we open the door to new collaborations, to new investment in research, and ultimately, we further enhance the impact of science.
Having received nominations from our global scientific community, our Science Council selected the winners from an extremely competitive shortlist after an intensive discussions.
Also, for the first time, a winner of our new award, the Ernst Ludwig Winnacker Award for enhancing the impact of science for the benefit of society, was selected.
Congratulations to all of the boundary-breaking scientists that have been recognized this year!
You can find a short description of the achievements of all winners below.
Award Ceremony
We will be celebrating the award winners at Bayer Foundation’s 2022 Science Award ceremony on the 30th of January 2023 in Leverkusen. The award ceremony will be recorded and will be available on this page shortly after the event.
Winner of the Otto Bayer Award 2022 for Chemistry, Biochemistry & Biology
Professor Dr. Frank Glorius
Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Muenster, Germany
For development of an extensive array of groundbreaking catalytic reactions for organic synthesis, facilitating the sustainable synthesis of organic molecules with outstanding value for medical and agricultural applications in high selectivity and purity.
Early Excellence in Science Awards 2022
Biology
Dr. Claudia Bonfio
For landmark achievements in origin of life studies demonstrating the viability of prebiotic ion-sulfur peptide catalysis. Her work on self-assembly of prebiotic biomolecules has the potential to enable a biochemical systems approach towards the in-vitro assembly of advanced primitive cells such as stem cells.
University of Strasbourg, France
Chemistry
Dr. Mark Levin
For breakthrough research on the highly selective skeletal editing of complex organic molecules using a wide range of chemical modalities. This technology enables facile modification of existing compound libraries, rapidly providing access to new chemical space and biologically active compounds.
University of Chicago, USA
Medical Sciences
Dr. Yanira Mendez Gomez
For her pioneering utilization of multicomponent reactions allowing the assembly of highly complex bioconjugates such as multivalent antibacterial vaccines or antibody-drug conjugates, constituting a great contribution to new ways of vaccine production.
University of Cambridge, UK
Data Science in the Life Sciences
Dr. Mohammad Lotfollahi
For innovative development of machine learning algorithms in the context of computational biology. His work advances the understanding of large-scale single-cell omics data in health and disease and will ultimately facilitate the advancement of precision medicine and AI-assisted drug discovery.
Helmholtz Institute of Computational Biology, Germany
Winner of the Ernst-Ludwig Winnacker Award 2022
Professor Dr. Antje Boetius
Alfred-Wegener-Institute, Bremerhaven, Germany
In recognition of her outstanding public engagement, policy advice and science communication in a broad range of themes, especially on the impacts of climate change, biodiversity losses, and ocean health.
