Credit: Irene Böttcher-Gajewski / Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry
The award is one of the most prestigious in Europe and endowed with 500,000 Swiss francs. With this prize the Louis-Jeantet Foundation honors the director at the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Biophysical Chemistry for his pioneering work in the field of gene transcription. Transcription is a copying process enabling living cells to produce transcripts of their genes that then serve as blueprints for making proteins. Cramer's research focuses on the molecular machines, called RNA polymerases, that control this fundamental process of life.
"Patrick Cramer has visualized the structures of many of these cellular copying machines in atomic detail for the first time. He demonstrated how RNA polymerases translate genetic information and how they work as a team with other protein complexes. His ground-breaking research provides deep insights into gene transcription with unprecedented detail. It is highly deserved that his outstanding achievements are now being honored with the Louis Jeantet Prize," says Marina Rodnina, Managing Director at the MPI for Biophysical Chemistry.