Anne Schaefer receives Segerfalk Lecture Award for pioneering neuroscience research
Award ceremony at Lund University in Sweden
Anne Schaefer, director at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, has been honored with the prestigious Segerfalk Lecture Award for her groundbreaking work in the neuroscience field. The award is given annually to an internationally outstanding scientist who has made major contributions to neuroscience and recognizes their innovative research and discoveries.
Schaefer's work focuses on the intricate mechanisms of the brain with the aim to understand the rules that govern neuron and non-neuron cell communication in the brain. Her research has shed new light on the role of glial cells and neurons in brain health, ageing and disease, offering new perspectives for the treatment of neurological disorders.
“I am very honored to receive the award”, says Schaefer. ‘The glia cells have a remarkable potential to control neuron function and harnessing this potential may help us to understand and treat human brain disorders, ranging from insomnia to epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease. I hope that the recognition of our work will bring more young talent to the field and to the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, in particular”.
About Anne Schaefer
Anne Schaefer studied medicine in Mainz and Berlin. In 2001, she went to the Rockefeller University in New York as a visiting student, and then returned to the Rockefeller University in 2004 as a postdoc in the laboratory of Nobel Prize winner Paul Greengard after completing her doctorate. In 2011, she started her own research group at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York, where her innovative research was recognized within a few years with a tenured professorship and the Vice Chair of the Neuroscience Department. Since 2021 Schaefer is director at the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing.
About the Segerfalk Lecture Award
The is awarded by the Segerfalk Foundation. It recognises outstanding achievements in neuroscience research and aims to encourage further scientific exploration and discovery in this important field. The award includes a lecture by the recipient at the Lund University in Sweden, where they share their research findings and insights with the scientific community, fostering collaboration and innovation in neuroscience. Among previous recipients of the award are laureates of the Brain Prize and the Nobel Prize including Richard Morris, Karl Deisseroth, Giacomo Rizzolatti, and Robert Horvitz.
