Sarah Teichmann given Helmholtz International Fellow Award
Dr Sarah Teichmann is one of five scientists to receive this year’s Helmholtz International Fellow Award, and the only researcher from the medical sector to be honoured. The awards ceremony is scheduled for the 5 May 2017 at the Helmholtz Campus in Neuherberg near Munich.
Professor Dr. Dr. Fabian Theis, who is collaborating with Dr Teichmann to develop the ‘Human Cell Atlas’ project, nominated Sarah for the award.
“I cannot imagine a better award winner. She is highly qualified and her research is very close to the topics our centre is focused on. This makes her the perfect candidate for this award.”
Professor Dr. Dr. Fabian Theis Director of the Institute of Computational Biology (ICB) at the Helmholtz Zentrum München
Born in Karlsruhehe, the 41-year-old researcher first made her name in the field of the structure analysis of proteins. During her doctoral studies at the University of Cambridge, Sarah was involved in 15 published studies. In the mid-1990s she extended her expertise to analysing DNA and whole genomes. This was particularly exciting research period as it was during this time that the first genomes were mapped.
Further work led her to the newly emerging research field of network biology and she moved to the EMBL-European Bioinformatics Institute and the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in 2013 to pursue her research. Now the Head of the Cellular Genetics programme at the Sanger Institute, Sarah is primarily focused on utilising data from single cells (genome, epigenome, transcriptome) to understand the global regulation of gene expression and map the development of individual cells and cell types.
Sarah’s research speaks for itself with more than 120 publications and 16,000 citations. She has led studies published in high-impact journals such as Science and Cell and is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. She has been awarded a wide range of grants, including an ERC Consolidator Grant on the topic of single cell analyses, reflecting the respect that her research garners.
More information
Further information
The Helmholtz International Fellow Award was first awarded in 2012. Since then, the award has been presented each year to 10 scientists in total in two selection rounds. So far, a total of 63 people have received the award. The prize is financed from the Helmholtz president’s Initiative and Networking Fund. The Helmholtz centers nominate the candidates, and the Helmholtz President’s Council selects the award winners. Applications for the next selection round must be filed by 11 May 2017. The selection will be made at the President’s Council meeting to be held at the end of June 2017.
Selected websites
Helmholtz Zentrum München, the German Research Center for Environmental Health
The Helmholtz Zentrum München, the German Research Center for Environmental Health, pursues the goal of developing personalized medical approaches for the prevention and therapy of major common diseases such as diabetes and lung diseases. To achieve this, it investigates the interaction of genetics, environmental factors and lifestyle. The Helmholtz Zentrum München is headquartered in Neuherberg in the north of Munich and has about 2,300 staff members. It is a member of the Helmholtz Association, a community of 18 scientific-technical and medical-biological research centers with a total of about 37,000 staff members.
The Institute of Computational Biology (ICB)
The Institute of Computational Biology (ICB) develops and applies methods for the model-based description of biological systems, using a data-driven approach by integrating information on multiple scales ranging from single-cell time series to large-scale omics. Given the fast technological advances in molecular biology, the aim is to provide and collaboratively apply innovative tools with experimental groups in order to jointly advance the understanding and treatment of common human diseases.
Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute
The Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute is one of the world's leading genome centres. Through its ability to conduct research at scale, it is able to engage in bold and long-term exploratory projects that are designed to influence and empower medical science globally. Institute research findings, generated through its own research programmes and through its leading role in international consortia, are being used to develop new diagnostics and treatments for human disease.
Wellcome
Wellcome exists to improve health for everyone by helping great ideas to thrive. We’re a global charitable foundation, both politically and financially independent. We support scientists and researchers, take on big problems, fuel imaginations and spark debate.
