Heinrich Draeger Research Award 2013

The Heinrich Draeger Research Award 2013 goes to Dr. Helgo Schmidt. He was awarded as first author for the scientific publication "Structural and mechanistic analysis of the membrane-embedded glycosyltransferase WaaA required for lipopolysaccharide synthesis" in the renowned Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS 2012, 109, 6253-6258). In this publication, Dr. Schmidt describes part of the results of his research conducted simultaneously at the Institute of Biochemistry of the University of Lübeck and at the Leibniz Research Center Borstel. Dr. Schmidt succeeded in elucidating the three-dimensional structure and function of a membrane protein that plays a crucial role in the biosynthesis of the lipopolysaccharide LPS. LPS, also called endotoxin, is a central component of the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria. In the case of infection (e.g. blood poisoning / sepsis) with these bacteria, LPS can trigger life-threatening septic shock. Dr. Schmidt's work opens new avenues for the development of broad-spectrum agents, which are urgently needed due to the resistance problem of existing antibiotics.

Dr. Helgo Schmidt, born in 1979 in Bad Hersfeld, studied biochemistry at the Friedrich Schiller University in Jena from 1999 to 2005. He received his PhD in 2010 with a biochemical thesis at the University of Luebeck and is currently conducting research at the Laboratory of Molecular Biology of the Medical Research Council in Cambridge, UK.

Once a year, the University of Luebeck awards its Research Award in recognition of a particularly outstanding scientific publication whose work results were primarily generated at the university. The prize is awarded alternately to scientists from the STEM and Medicine sections. Doctoral researchers whose doctorate was awarded no longer than five years ago are eligible to apply.