GSN faculty member Dorothee Dormann wins the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize
The Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize is awarded annually by the DFG to young researchers who have produced outstanding work.
25.02.2014
Dr. Dorothee Dormann has won the Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize, viewed as the most distinguished German award available specifically to junior researchers, for her work on the molecular pathogenesis of neurodegenerative diseases.
Her research focuses on the molecular mechanisms that underlie the development of frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The incidence of FTD among dementia patients over the age of 65 is second only to that of Alzheimer’s disease. The condition is characterized by ongoing loss of nerve cells primarily in the frontal lobes of the brain, and is associated with drastic changes in personality and social behavior. As with Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative illnesses, the formation of insoluble aggregates containing specific proteins plays a crucial role in nerve-cell dysfunction and death.
