American scientists receive the 2021 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize
FRANKFURT am MAIN. Two American scientists, Bonnie L. Bassler and Michael R. Silverman, receive the 2021 Paul Ehrlich and Ludwig Darmstaedter Prize, which is endowed with 120,000 €.
Bassler is Professor at Princeton University and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator, Michael R. Silverman is Emeritus Professor of the Agouron Institute in La Jolla.
The two researchers are honoured for their ground-breaking discoveries concerning bacterial quorum sensing , which refers to sophisticated systems of cell-to-cell communication that bacteria use to coordinate group behaviors.
The award ceremony in St. Paul s Church, which is traditionally held on March 14, Paul Ehrlich s birthday, has been postponed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Instead, Bassler and Silverman will receive the award at the ceremony in 2022.