It's quick and easy to access Live Science Plus, simply enter your email below. We'll send you a confirmation and sign you up for our daily newsletter, keeping you up to date with the latest science news.
Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla, Volker Haucke, Ana Pombo and Robert Zeiser were selected out of 142 people to receive the 2025 Leibniz Prize for their respective research in cell biology, neuroscience, biochemistry and cancer. They will each receive 2.5 million euros, equivalent to approximately $2.6 million, in prize money.
Established in 1985, the Leibniz Prize is considered Germany's most prestigious scientific award and is bestowed upon up to 10 scientists every year. Per the DFG website, the award aims to "honor outstanding scientists and academics, expand their research opportunities, and help them employ particularly qualified early career researchers."
As of 2024, 12 past prizewinners have later gone on to be awarded a Nobel Prize, including the Swedish geneticist Svante Pääbo in 2022 for his work on sequencing the Neanderthal genome and German developmental biologist Christiane Nüsslein-Volhard in 1995 for her discoveries on the genetic control of early embryonic development.
Maria-Elena Torres-Padilla, the first of the prize-winners, is Director of the Institute of Epigenetics and Stem Cells at Helmholtz Munich in Germany. Her work focuses on reprogramming mature cells to resemble those found in early embryos, which have the ability to become any type of cell — a trait known as totipotency. This means that you can create what Torres-Padilla calls "cells à la carte," which can be used to develop personalized therapies for particular diseases.
Sign up for the Live Science daily newsletter now
Get the world’s most fascinating discoveries delivered straight to your inbox.
"By reprogramming cells back to totipotency — a very early embryonic state — we are conceiving transformative therapies that range from neurodegenerative diseases to brain injuries and leukemia," Torres-Padilla said in a statement in response to receiving the award.
One of the award recipients' work focuses on how tumor cells evade attack by the immune system.
Ana Pombo, a professor of biochemistry at Humboldt University of Berlin, has also been recognized for her discoveries related to the organization of chromosomes that are said to have led to a "new understanding of gene regulation and the underlying structures within the cell nucleus." These discoveries may help reveal how certain diseases that are sometimes tied to chromosomal abnormalities, such as autism and epilepsy, may arise.
Lastly, cancer biologist Dr. Robert Zeiser has been awarded the 2025 Leibniz Prize for his "groundbreaking work on the treatment of blood cancer." Zeiser, who is director of the Department of Stem Cell Transplantation and Deputy Medical Director at the University of Freiburg in Germany, studies how tumors manage to evade the body's immune defences, particularly in the case of leukemia and skin cancer.
These scientists will join the six other awardees, who were recognized for their work in other fields ranging from experimental physics to artificial intelligence, at the official award ceremony on March 19, 2025.
Emily is a health news writer based in London, United Kingdom. She holds a bachelor's degree in biology from Durham University and a master's degree in clinical and therapeutic neuroscience from Oxford University. She has worked in science communication, medical writing and as a local news reporter while undertaking NCTJ journalism training with News Associates. In 2018, she was named one of MHP Communications' 30 journalists to watch under 30.
Live Science Plus
