Dr Markus Ralser has been awarded the Biochemical Society's Colworth Medal.
The award was presented for Dr Ralser's work on the early evolution of cellular metabolism, and the dynamic nature of metabolism that allows living cells to adapt to stress situations.
The Colworth Medal is awarded annually to an outstanding research biochemist under the age of 35 years old and working mainly in the UK. Dr Ralser will receive the 2017 Colworth Medal when he delivers his Medal Lecture at a Biochemical Society conference next year.
Dr Ralser obtained his PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics (MPIMG), Berlin, Germany. After being introduced to mass spectrometry at the VU Amsterdam, he established a lab at the MPIMPG for studying basic principles of metabolism. The lab moved to the University of Cambridge in 2011, and since 2015, is also part of the Francis Crick Institute.
Responding to the news of the prize, he said, "I feel honoured to receive the Colworth Medal which I accept on behalf of my amazing students and the many senior scientists who have supported me over the years. It is worth mentioning that the first Colworth Medal was awarded to Hans Kornberg in 1963 for the discovery of the glyoxylate cycle which is part of my research now. This shows how long biochemical research can last while still yielding increasingly exciting insights into how cells function."